


Can't We Just Leave the Dungeons and Dragons Alone?

by VYPERSENSOR



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, It's a liveplay game like critical role, LOTS OF CHARACTERS DIE FROM NPCS TO THE PCS AND MONSTERS, Other, So much angst, TXT plays Dungeons and Dragons featuring Jay and Jake as their DMs, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, based off the vr concept photoshoot for minisode1:blue hour, beomgyu is a druid, bts make guest appearances, hyuka is a bard, if anything triggering comes up i'll tag it, jake and jay have played dnd before that's where it's slightly canon divergent, mentions critical role, no beta we die like men, original characters which are actually txt's characters, so much death but this is dnd, soobin has a ridiculously expensive dice set, soobin is a ranger, taehyun is a sorcerer, technically this has blonde hueningkai, this will be both funny but also painful, tried to make this as easy to understand as possible for ppl who don't play dnd, yeonjun beomgyu taehyun and hyuka end up as dice goblins, yeonjun is a paladin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29325201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VYPERSENSOR/pseuds/VYPERSENSOR
Summary: Featuring Jake and Jay from Enhypen as the Dungeon Masters running a game for the members of Tomorrow by Together, who are very new to the world of Dungeons and Dragons and want to experience the game alongside their fans (and improving their English & voice acting skills along the way, too!), on the show "Can't We Just Leave the Dungeons and Dragons Alone?"How will their adventures go?Starring...Choi Yeonjun as 'Daniel Choi', a Half Orc/Dragonborn Paladin of HephaestusChoi Soobin as 'Bin', a High Elf RangerChoi Beomgyu as 'Kuri', a Shifter DruidKang Taehyun as 'Terry', a Air/Earth Gensai Sorcererand Kai Kamal Huening as 'Legolas', an Aasimar Bard[Level 1 Party]
Comments: 15
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> How it all comes together...the beginnings...

Out of everything Jay and Jake had expected, hearing that Tomorrow by Together, their seniors, were interested in playing a tabletop roleplaying game that didn’t have a strong foothold in Korea and had the sourcebooks all in English only, was not what they expected at all. But here they were, having a group session zero to roll their characters up. It excited them, if anything – Dungeons and Dragons was more widely known in the Western sphere, and they weren’t too sure if there was going to be any official port into Korean anytime soon, and when they explained that to their senior group, they responded with something that startled them. “That’s fine with us, actually. We want to improve on our conversational English skills, and maybe a game like this can help us out, surely?” Beomgyu had replied, a cheeky smile on his face, something that Jay knew was a key part of the producer and songwriter. “And well, if you think about it in this way, I think MOA would be happy to see more content from us, really. Something that’s refreshing and new and also just us. I think they’d like to see that.” Soobin had added onto Beomgyu’s response, and with that Jake and Jay immediately began to start brainstorming how they were going to run the game.

Thankfully, they looked towards various liveplay games of Dungeons and Dragons like Critical Role, a show Jay had definitely known about given the show’s impact on the tabletop roleplaying scene and the kickstarter for the animated series, and he himself would possibly consider himself to be a fan of the show itself. After pitching the idea to the company board – who were initially a bit hesitant at first, but when the older group had expressed their intent and interest in wanting to go ahead with some additional support through translating over the game itself, they’d been given the go ahead to start preparing for the game and the show overall. 

Jake was enthusiastic, no, he was outright giddy and excited that he was going to be able to show his skills at storytelling and perhaps his voice acting – he had remembered the instances of playing as the game master for his friends when he was in school, the voices he would put on to differentiate the non-player characters from the monsters to excite his players – alongside Jay, who had also played as both a player and as a game master. It was interesting to say the least, how they had discovered that their playstyles were quite similar and how they were able to build off each other’s ideas and create convincing, enthralling stories together. They had figured out a plan in regard to who would be running the sessions – that they would both work in tandem together, sometimes as additional voices to handling some of the more complex mechanics and handling combat, to also taking down notes of what their players were doing and where they were at in the game and build off from that. 

They had multiple discussions on what would be the overarching plot of the campaign, leaving some areas untouched for when they would incorporate character backstories into the overarching plot – and with the group chat they’d specifically made to have discussions between the players and the game masters for the game buzzing madly, teeming with ideas for character backstories and even the name for their particular party and the proposed name for the show – everything was ready and in order for their game’s session zero. 

Which was tedious enough as is – explaining the gameplay, all of the mechanics, running through things like combat and spells, the entirety of the game to the band with premade characters to help them understand – and it took them at least three to four hours before they got to probably the most fun part of the game at that point – character creation. The band had decided to put their heads together and go through the Player’s Handbook and throw ideas out there on what they could play with their characters, while also going through on their iPads and their phones for other sourcebooks they could access to see what their characters would be. 

“Is there a way we can go outside the races we find in the Player’s Handbook?” Beomgyu had asked, making Jake pause for a few moments to contemplate the question, looking over to Jay to see what he thought. “I don’t suppose why not? What do you want to play?” Jay asks, shuffling on over to where Beomgyu sat, the translated version of Eberron – Rising from the Last War in his hands as he flicks over to the pages containing the races. “I’m interested in playing these guys…” Jay watches as Beomgyu points to the Shifter race, a small grin forming on his face. “Think of it this way – as long as it’s been released on something like D&D Beyond or in paperback and is a sourcebook, we’re all ears. In fact, Jake, weren’t you thinking about adding Shifters in this campaign either way?” Jay says, glancing over to the younger game master as his eyes light up. “Why yes, clans of them, actually. What subrace of Shifter, Beomgyu?” Jake asks, and Beomgyu looks down in the page, taking a moment to decide. “Beasthide?” He beckons, and Jake nods. “Alright! This is already shaping up to be interesting!” Jake exclaims as he claps his hands together, rubbing them together as he glances around the table, noticing how the others seem to be in the midst of reading through the Player’s Handbook. 

His eyes glance over to HueningKai, watching as he places the book up, hesitating to grab the translated version of Volo’s Guide to Monsters before meeting his eyes with HueningKai’s – and gives him a nod. “That applies to everyone, by the way. You’re all allowed to look at other sourcebooks – check the table of contents first to see if it has races or classes in there before you go ahead and look through the book.” He states, briefly grabbing the attention of Taehyun who also had been glancing up to grab the book as well. Jay and Jake both look at each other, knowing they only had one physical copy of the translated books on hand except for the Player’s Handbook, and that if they were to use the other sourcebooks that they’d have to give them a copy of the sourcebook in English. 

“Hey, could we share this together?” Taehyun asks, tapping on HueningKai’s shoulder to get his attention. The youngest turns to Taehyun and shuffles closer and places the book on the table, reading through at the same pace as the slightly older singer. “Taehyun? Did you want…your own book to read through? It’s in English, though.” Jay offers, taking the attention of the young singer up to him. “A good place to start would be there, if you’re okay with that?” Taehyun answers, and Jake immediately moves about to grab the sourcebook and gives it to Taehyun, who immediately cracks open the book to find the pages he was after. 

The room goes quiet, with the sound of dice rattling as Yeonjun reaches down into his bag to grab out a rather hefty bag of dice, Jay looking at him with amazement. “When did you get dice?” Jay asks, drawing the attention of the other Tomorrow by Together members who watch as Yeonjun grabs out a small bowl-like container and pours the contents of the bag into the container – various dice sets falling out, shimmering with different colours and patterns – and picks out four six-sided dice to roll with. “Ah, I only wanted to get one set…but then I ended up getting more. They’re so pretty!” Yeonjun exclaims, with Jake bursting into laughter and Jay hiding his face in his hand, giggling into his hand as the other members begin to coo over the various dice sets. “Jake, Yeonjun-hyung’s been bitten by the nefarious Dice Goblin, just like you!” Jay exclaims, while Jake doubles over with laughter. It catches the band off guard with the laughter, and it takes a minute for both Jay and Jake to calm down before they meet the eyes of the band looking at them with absolute confusion, save for Yeonjun who had begun to mumble to himself as he rolls the dice, writing down things into his character sheet.

“That dastardly Dice Goblin is how you fall into the trap of buying so many pretty dice sets, to the point where you can’t stop. I happen to have that very issue, and it never ends!” Jake explains, the 4 band members exclaiming with acknowledgement as Jay keeps giggling to himself. “Sorry for distracting you guys like that, to us it’s pretty funny in a relatable way, if that makes sense.” Jay elaborates further, and the others nod as they return to character creation, the process taking them an additional hour as the two game masters helped work with each member’s character, making changes as what they saw fit to the rules. 

Going home for the day, the five members of Tomorrow by Together were eager to play these new characters they’d created – discussing things like what their stats were like, and some of the minor details about backstory they wanted to let the other know about, but mostly the discussion was on the hype around the show that they couldn’t wait to star on to play the game. But they also couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, it was like they were debuting again, it felt like to Soobin, all this talk of anticipation for the new show. 

\------------------

It was at least out of random and nowhere when Jake and Jay asked their players – the band – to co-write and sing on a theme song and the video introduction shoot for the show. They had a rough idea of where they were going with the video introduction, which took them far longer than they’d anticipated than the recording of the theme song. But what they got out of the video shoot was just more excitement to play the game – for the first time the players got to see what the other’s characters looked like together, with mostly individual shots being filmed. 

“Wah, Yeonjun-hyung! You’ve got horns and scales and a tail!” HueningKai had exclaimed when he saw Yeonjun for the first time between takes – a common reaction Yeonjun had found as he got more or less the same response from the other members when they saw his character’s outfit, exclamations of how ‘intimidating’ and cool the character looked. He couldn’t contain his excitement seeing the other members’ characters, most notably Beomgyu’s and Taehyun’s characters, who were quite out of the ordinary with their designs – Beomgyu having returned to a look similar to the PUMA era with makeup to add scarring, fake fur, contacts to make his eyes look more bestial and the fangs and claws, amongst other things like the outfit – while Taehyun’s character looked like he had been through many fights and magic experiments already with the impressive efforts to make magical scars over his body, especially around the left hand and the left eye where he could see Taehyun wearing a eye contact that coloured his sclera a dark grey with a bright blue draconic iris – those were Yeonjun’s favourite characters in terms of designs so far, but he also loved how Soobin’s and HueningKai’s characters looked very regal yet intimidating, especially with the prop weapons they had been given, all hints as to what the character could really be like. 

As the shoots wrapped up, Jay found himself looking at the different members of the band and smiled, at the memory not so long ago of the random suggestion to play D&D having popped up when they were all discussing about board games now suddenly becoming very close to reality. They were only about two to three weeks away from the very first stream, and they’d already begun the promotions for the new show, drumming up interest from fans all around the world. 

Time was flying by very quickly, and before they knew it, they were there on the set of the new studio they would be hiring out for the duration of the show, an hour before showtime. All the players were there, all the equipment needed was there, including minatures, battlemaps, the entire shebang. Both him and Jake had warned the players and in the promotions that they were going to go all out and immersive with the experiences, and now here they were, counting down the minutes until showtime, getting the playlist of music ready and going over in his mind on what to say as they crept ever so closer to showtime.

It was time.


	2. Chapter 1: Early Morning Tensions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first livestreamed episode goes live, and we meet our adventurers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Just some information about this chapter and future chapters - there is formatting to differentiate between them speaking Korean (normal), English (italics) and in-character (bolded normal or bolded italics). I've also added indicators of who is speaking as the Dungeon Master to help make sense of which DM is speaking, and which player is speaking. During the In-Game segments, anything out of character such as the results of rolls and interactions/expressions are in these brackets [here] to help break things up just a little. 
> 
> Without further ado, let us begin!

And so, the adventure begins.

Everything is set up – from the encounters including battle maps and minatures, to the food and drinks, to the players themselves, kitted out with both the original hardcopy handbooks and the translated ones, dice ready, cameras and the stream was ready. Small bouts of chatter between players had taken place, while Jay and Jake busied themselves with keeping an eye on the stream itself and also taking note of the characters, making some dice rolls behind the wooden screen into the dice tray.

“Ready?” Jay whispered under his breath to Jake, who took in a deep breath as the music video on the stream was finishing, and a shout that there would be one more music video before they themselves would go live on the stream. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Feels weird, feels like I’m debuting again? Either way…let’s give them one hell of a game.” Jake responded, cracking his neck as the final MV began to play – Jay also following suit and stretching his limbs.

“You guys ready?” Jake asks the players, to which they cheer with excitement, confirming their readiness for the game. Jay watches as the MV finishes and slowly fades into the camera pointing towards himself and Jake, with Jake beginning to speak.

“Good evening everyone! Welcome to our new show where a bunch of us idols sit down to play a game called Dungeons and Dragons! I’m one of the co-hosts and one of the co-DMs, Jake from Enhypen.” He momentarily glances over to Jay, who continues on seamlessly from where he left off. “And I’m Jay, the other co-host and co-DM, and also from Enhypen! We’re really excited to play this and we wanted to extend a warm welcome to our cast of players…Tomorrow by Together!” Jay exclaims as he stands up and gestures to his seniors, to which the camera switches and there’s cheers from both the band and from the camera crew as they see the five idols appear on screen. “One Dream! Hello, we are Tomorrow by Together!~”

“Please introduce yourselves!” Jake asks, and the others nod. “Hi, I’m the eldest of the team and the resident dice hoarder, Yeonjun!” Yeonjun says, winking at the camera as he lifts up his bag full to the brim with dice. “Hi, I’m the charming, strategic leader of the team, Soobin~” Soobin says, also winking at the camera as he brings up his finger heart, earning a few “ooohs” from the other members. The camera cuts to Beomgyu, who pushes his hair back and shows off a smug grin to the camera. “Hi, I’m the devilishly handsome member of the team, Beomgyu!” He introduces himself, and as the camera pans to Taehyun he exclaims out of shot in English - “ _I LOVE BEARS!_ ” – and the entire cast & crew begin to burst into laughter at the very sudden exclamation, to the point where Yeonjun and Soobin are in hysterics with laughter and Beomgyu a giggly mess at the realisation of his outburst, with Taehyun and Kai doubling over with laughter, trying to regain their breath back before they can continue the introductions.

Jay wipes a tear from his eyes, calming down with a few giggles. “Watch out, that’s going to be something MOA will forever use like Waeng.” Beomgyu lets out a giggle-groan as he puts his face into his hands, still forever haunted with the in-joke of Waeng from their debut showcase. The camera focuses back on Taehyun who had managed to get himself back together, letting out a few giggles here and there before smacking Beomgyu’s arm lightly as payback. “Yah! I thought I was funny!” Beomgyu exclaims, making Taehyun giggle. “I’m the resident braincell and also the strongest of the group, Taehyun.” He says as he waves to the camera. At this point Kai clears his throat as the camera focuses in on him. “Hi!~ I’m the resident bard of the team with angelic charms, HueningKai~” He says as he sends out a flurry of finger hearts.

Yeonjun clears his throat. “So, we just want to thank the company for letting us do this! We want to really improve our conversational English, and with the help of Jay and Jake I think we’re going to have a great time! We’re very new to the game and will take time to get used to the game and also our conversational English again. _Thank you guys for coming to watch us play a game! Love you MOA~”_ He says, slipping into English as he waves to the screen and doing a heart with his hands.

“ _Thanks Yeonjun! Ah, we’ve been preparing for this for about two or so months? Promotions wise, that is. Jay and I have been working on the campaign for a little over 4 months at this point, and we’re so excited to share with both the players and you guys all around the world what the campaign will be like! We’d go into announcements but I don’t think we have any, so without further ado…let’s show the intro sequence to the show of ‘Can’t We Just Leave the Dungeons and Dragons Alone’, shall we?”_ Jake picks up from Yeonjun’s mini speech as he wraps up the introduction with showcasing the intro sequence, and they all watch as the stream fades into the intro sequence that they had filmed together, with the cast whooping and cheering and exclaiming as the mix of animation and live-action scenes play on the stream, and as the song begins to end, they sing it together, the stream fading back into the cast as they continue to sing.

“ _And we’re back! Love how you guys sang that at the end there! Shall we kick off?”_ Jay says, with a confirmation as the group cheers and woops. “ _Alright then! Jake, take it away~”_ he continues, handing it over to Jake to begin exposition.  
  


\---------  
  


[In Game]

_“Within the galaxy dubbed System-52, nine planets circle around the main star in the system, the central being of life within the galaxy as it ebbs and flows to these planets. Each of these planets has been, for the most part, united and peaceful with each other, the terrains ever so difficult to traverse before the invention of technology and magic that allowed for the local peoples of each of these planets to teleport and travel to these planets, allowing for new civilisations and growth of these planets into organised regions of life. Each of these planets is led by a Monarch that leads each of the planets as their central government, but there is self-governance in many of the regions on these planets and their moons, called sections, all answering to the Monarch._

_But where we are, is much smaller. Terra, the world which is much like our own earth, is home to various empires and entire civilisations, and the homeworld of the human race, although many others continue to reside here after Terra had set up teleportation and travel amongst the other planets in the system. In the lands of the west lie the united nations of Faeltrys, named after the portal to the Feywild opened within the mountaneous forest areas. To the north lies the mostly uncharted territory of the Dawncrests, where all kinds of beasts call it home. To the east lies the evergrowing forests and the sandy plains of the Endless Shifting Seas known for the constant movement of the ground there. To the south, where the Monarch and the capital of the planet resides, is known informally as the Great Outback, officially as the Motherland and as the Sanctum. In the Sanctum, offset to one of the smaller towns near the dark foreboding rainforest met with marsh is the town of El’dwyer, where five individuals find themselves stopping by in the town, unknowing of the paths they cross._

_You’ve been sent to start here to go find more information about the sudden appearance of what appears to be an X tattooed into your off-hand arm, and for two of these individuals, a blue diamond appears in one of the spaces around the X. It’s around nine in the morning, skies slightly overcast with cloud, with slightly cool winds flowing about. Yeonjun, if you could explain who you are, and what you’re planning to look for around in the town?”_

[A hushed cheer from the other members is heard as Yeonjun clears his throat.]

_“Mainly here to find out information about the sudden appearance of this X on my off-hand, mostly covered by my shield, I’m also looking around casually for any stalls that might be trading for rarer minerals or gemstones._ Apologies, I’m a little rusty with this. I’ll get better! _Um, let’s see here. I stand about 6 feet tall, a thick white scaled tail that flows behind me that is mostly covered by the elegant, black cloak I wear that bears the symbol of Hephaestus. My pink hair draws the most attention, vibrant, but also the horns and slight scattering of small white scales across my face. I’ve got a similar skin tone to my actual skintone, with hints of blue-green coming from my eyes and ears. What else…oh, I have tusks as well!_ I think that’s it. Oh! _I have striking blue eyes._ Yeah, that’s it. Whew. Wow.” - YJ

[Jay nods, his eyes lowered to behind the screen as he jots down some notes.]

“ _Alright then. You begin to walk about the trading post, it’s not fully packed due to many beginning to set up their wares for the day. Make a Wisdom check for me? Just your d20 and use your Wisdom modifier for me.”_ [Jay asks, with Yeonjun nodding as he grabs out a d20 and goes to roll it. He grimaces as the dice lands on a 3, with a minus 1 modifier to his Wisdom stat of 8.]

“Oh goodness. Uh. _This is going to be hilarious to say that I do not have a good Wisdom stat. 2.” - YJ_

[Jake tries to hide his laughter, while Jay smiles, chuckling a little bit.]

“ _As you walk around looking at the tradepost, you weren’t really paying attention to your surroundings and accidentally walk into a wooden pole. It doesn’t hurt anything but your pride, though.” - Jay_

[The other 4 players burst into giggles while Yeonjun just smiles through the pain.]

_“My pride is very hurt, yes. That’s on me though.” - YJ_

_“Alright, and as your character – what’s his name?” - Jake_

_“Oh! Uh…if the others are meeting him? Dan.” - YJ_

_“_ Hyung that’s such an uncreative name-“ - BG  
“What do YOU know about uncreative names? Did ANYONE make their character’s names hard to pronounce? Very fantasy-esque? Or did you build up on references you made or just your own names?!” - YJ

  
[As Yeonjun goes on a mini rant the other players look at their character sheets and at each other, with Beomgyu being the first to burst into laughter. Jay and Jake look confused at the random debate of names between Beomgyu and Yeonjun. Jay adds to his notes.]

_“Alright. Taehyun, if you could please introduce your character as you react to watching this individual just walk face first into a pole?” - Jake_

_“_ Alright! Time to shine! _The first thing you notice about me is the dark blue clothing I wear, with the sash across my body holding some potions and the like. I have a hood pulled over my head._ What else… _My left hand has lots of lightning scars and other magical scars, and on my right hand my fingertips are like a muddy green. You can’t see my eyes very clearly underneath the hood, but I’ve got one bright blue eye that’s always bright. Blonde hair…oh! I’m rather tall and a bit broader. And I kind of just chuckle at the individual._ Actually, uh, can I- _sorry, can I say to him **‘Nice going there. Wooden you know where you’re going?’** ” - TH_

_“You definitely can!” - Jay_

[There’s muffled laughing and groans from both the cast and crew as Taehyun makes the joke, with Jake just putting his head in his hands to try not to laugh, while Jay just continues to chuckle and allowing the action to go ahead.]

“ _I turn to the hooded figure and shoot him a glare.” - YJ_

_“Is that all you do?” -_ Jake

[Yeonjun nods, smirking as Taehyun looks at him with a hint of shock, having been caught off guard by the response.]

“ _Alright then. What do you do, Taehyun?” -_ Jake

_“_ Are…are we allowed to swear? Or just use vulgar/uncouth language?” - TH

“ _I…_ PD-nim, can we do that?” - Jay

[the others look off screen and all smile or have looks of surprise on their face. Taehyun rubs his hands together. Yeonjun gets up to whisper something into Jake’s ear and Jake enthusiastically nods, throwing Yeonjun two thumbs up.]

“Awesome. I’m going to put on an accent by the way. _I look at the individual and give him a glare back and ask him **‘what, you got a fuckin’ problem with me, mate? It was a joke!’**_ ” - TH

[The camera crew let out a gasp of awe, while Jay just cackles with shock, Jake looks at Taehyun in awe and shock and a look of shock from both Soobin and Beomgyu as Taehyun puts on a posh Australian accent. Yeonjun raises his eyebrows in amusement.]

“This will be interesting. _I now have a new goal in mind, and I go on over towards this hooded figure and size them up.” - YJ_

_“Alright, while that happens, I’m going to give the others an opportunity to introduce their characters, if that’s fine with you guys?” -_ Jay

[Both Taehyun and Yeonjun nod, glancing at each other across the table as they engage in conversation by mouthing the words.]

_“Right then. Beomgyu, if you could introduce your character and where they could possibly be?” -_ Jake

_“_ Ah, okay. Right so… _I’m not all that confident in speaking English that well, so please bear with me on this? Okay?_ Right. _My character’s got messy…_ how do you say unkempt?” “ _Unkempt.” “Ah! My character has messy, unkempt hair. He looks like he’s lived in the forests for the most part. He has two eye colours. One is blue, the other is yellow, with the pupils like…lines? Yeah. No shoes! He doesn’t wear shoes. Carries a big staff around with him. His outfit kind of is…like a…_ how would you- oh! _He has a patchwork of leaves and leather for his outfit. Claws, fangs, his ears are round and furry. His hands are like a bear’s! I think he has a tail. It’s small and hidden though. You know what I’m saying?” - BG_

“So what does he do?” - Jay

“Uh… _I think he just. Kind of walks on by? Does he notice these two people looking like they’re going to fight?” - BG_

“Hmm. _Make a perception check for me. Roll the d20 and add your Perception modifier.”_ \- Jake

[It takes Beomgyu a few seconds to process what he needs to do, looking for the dice in question before he rolls the dice. He perks up once the die clangs against the dice tray and looks back at his character sheet. He rolls a 19, plus his modifier of +3 to the Perception skill.]

“ _22.” - BG_

_“Oh wow. That’s a really good roll! A nice kick off for the campaign, everyone! Right, so he definitely notices the potential showdown between the two individuals, and even takes note of some of their facial features. What else would you like to do?” -_ Jake

“I walk closer to them, but not enough to warrant attention.” - BG

“ _Alright then. Taehyun, Yeonjun, could you two roll for perception? Same dice as before. Beomgyu, I want you to roll me a Stealth check. Just because. Same dice.” -_ Jake

[Yeonjun and Taehyun both roll the d20s at the same time. Yeonjun lets out a defeated sigh, having rolled an 8 but taking a -1 due to his -1 modifier in Wisdom, which makes it 7. Taehyun does a little wiggle and a noise of excitement as he rolls a 19 and adds a +1 to make it a 20. Beomgyu rolls his d20, landing on a 17, widening his eyes as he checks his character sheet, adding a +2 to his roll to make it 19.]

“ _Wow. Didn’t know I’d be making so many checks relying on Wisdom, ugh. A 7.” - YJ_

_“I got a natural 19. Is that how you say it? I got 20 due to my modifier.” - TH_

_“Ooh, nice.” -_ Jay

_“I got a 19.” - BG_

_“Alright then. So Yeonjun’s character is painfully oblivious to you walking closer to them, but Taehyun’s character seems to acknowledge your presence. Before we continue with this, Soobin and HueningKai, if you guys could introduce your characters?”- Jake_

[Soobin and Kai make eye contact with each other, nodding before turning to the others.]

“ _I’ll start. There’s two tall-ish people, one dressed elegantly in bright white fluffy clothes. Distinct red eyes, long blonde hair with some of it tied up in a ponytail, there’s a few white and blue feathers in the hair, generally tanned skin with a more greyish-black tint coming from the forehead and ears down. He’s standing at about…_ ah, I had it here somewhere… _200 centimetres tall, taller than the person standing next to him by at least five or so centimeters. There’s a large… gla-ive? Glaive? I think that’s what it’s called, on his back. He’s very broad-chested too._ Soobin, you want to have a go?” - HK

“I’m kind of the same thing with Beomgyu…please give me some time to get used to speaking English with confidence. _Uhh. So for me, my character’s got very noticeable blue hair. He’s got a little flower crown on his head._ Ahh…this is hard…” - SB

“ _You’re doing great Soobin. Take your time.”_ – Jay

“Ahhh. _Okay! Well, he’s got a blue overcoat on, he wanted to look nice around town. Underneath is…_ let me just check…ah! _He has underneath the shirt some leather armour. On his back he’s got two shortswords and a longbow on his back as well._ I think that’s it.” - SB

“You did really good hyung! _We’re actually together, our characters kind of know each other. He’s following my character around the town for the most part.” - HK_

“ _Alright then. Anywhere in particular or looking for anything in particular?” -_ Jay

“ _Probably near the trading markets, looking for stalls that sells playing cards of any kind, odd things and arrows. Oh! And instruments. Cuz I’m a bard, you know?” - HK_

_“Gotcha. So, as you make your way down to the trading post from the inn you’re currently lodging in, the West Palms, it takes you about 10 minutes or so. What are your character’s names?”_ – Jay

“My character’s name…Oh I’m going to get into trouble by Yeonjun-hyung aren’t I?” - SB

“Is it worse than my name?” - YJ  
“No…” - SB  
“Then you should be fine?” - BG

“Okay…don’t smack me though if you think it is though.” - SB

“I promise not to~” - YJ

“ _He’s not really trusting in general, but he just goes by the name ‘Bin’.” - SB_

_“_ Is that cutting your name in half? Is that what you did? I guess we’re more alike, Soobin-hyung.” - TH

[Yeonjun hides his smile behind his hand while Soobin rubs at the back of his neck. Jay takes some more notes down.]

“ _Legolas.” - HK_

_“SERIOUSLY? OUT OF EVERYTHING YOU CHOSE LEGOLAS?” - YJ  
“It was the first name I could think of and I stuck with it! He’s not at all the complete same as the Legolas we know and love~” - HK_

_  
“Alright then, noted. So, what do Legolas and Bin do on their way down to the trading post?” - Jay_

[Soobin looks at Kai and clears his throat, the maknae also following suit.]

_“ **’How’d you sleep last night?’” - SB**_

****

**_“’Still plagued by nightmares. Also still feeling sore from that run in with that bandit squad. Pretty much just awful in general.” - HK_ **

****

**_“Not going to lie…even though we have been working together for the last month, I do not think I have ever seen you be that angry. You…you were a completely different person, it was…it scared me.’” - SB_ **

****

**_“’You haven’t seen me when I fully tap into that side of me. I was worried about you. After all…You are the only person I’ve been able to trust, and you were being careless and a bit cocky. You’re not the king of the world.” - HK_ **

****

**_“’I know…I realise what I did was stupid and foolish. But I can’t stop thinking about how pained your screams of anger were. And obviously those bandits must have known about how pointless it was to fight you when you did let out that scream…’” - SB_ **

****

**_“Trust me, if you knew a tiny bit of what haunts me, you’d be horrified. Now…what are you looking for again? I know you wanted to stock up on something.’” - HK_ **

****

**_“Mostly replenishing my quiver. I am down to only five arrows, and I am willing to spend a good amount to make sure I have plenty in case we run into further trouble.’” - SB_ **

****

**_“’That’s right. Well, should we also grab some potions and salves? I know my innate magic does well for now, but I can’t guarantee that it’ll be enough if we do run into more trouble.’” - HK_ **

****

**_“’That was going to be the next thing on the list. What would you be looking for?’” - SB_ **

****

**_“’Anything music related for the most part. Maybe a few odd things here and there…a pack of playing cards, ‘cause I’ve been meaning to start learning some games with them.’” - HK_ **

****

[There’s a look of admiration and glee in Jake’s eyes as he watches Soobin slip into a very refined, a kind of rare aspect of the posh Australian accent coming from Soobin and the deep, monotone general British accent come from Kai very smoothly. Yeonjun, Beomgyu and Taehyun look at them with wide eyes as the conversation between Soobin and Kai flows seamlessly.]

“ _Where the hell did y’all learn the Aussie accent? You have no idea how proud that makes me, guys .It’s good to see something different than just the stock standard American accent for once! Love the variety.”_ – Jake

“ _We try!” - TH_

“ _Hey, DM?_ Sorry for switching suddenly, but would Bin be able to see any stalls that have arrows or things to make arrows?” - SB

“ _I would say…Make a Wisdom check.” -_ Jay

_“Straight check?” - SB  
“Aye.” - _Jake

_“Oh, that’s not great.” - SB_

[Soobin grimaces, rolling a 2, +2 makes it 4.]

“ _Oh, roll with advantage since Legolas is helping look with you, I’m assuming?” - Jay_

_“Yeah, Legolas is helping Bin locate any stalls. How does advantage work?” - HK_

_“So you roll again, and whichever roll is the higher one, you use that roll.” - Jake_

[Soobin rolls again, and lets out a small cheer after a relieved sigh. A 17, with a +2 to his Wisdom makes it a 19.]

“Do I read both rolls out?” - SB

“ _I’d prefer that, yes.”_ \- Jay

_“First roll was a 2, plus my modifier made that a 4, but the second roll was a 17, and with the modifier, a 19.” - SB_

_“There we go. You do definitely find a few stalls that sell arrows, and it becomes apparent to you both as well that this seems to be a town known for trading fresh meats and hides as their main export, and there’s quite a hunter’s guild in the area judging by a number of stalls branded with the mark of the local hunter’s guild, which Legolas does recognise.” -_ Jay

_“_ Is there anything that Legolas is looking for within the stalls?” - HK

“ _Make a Wisdom check as well. With advantage, if Bin helps._ ” - Jay

“I do help him.” - SB

[Kai rolls a 4, with a +1 makes it a 5, and rolls again to gain a 15, a +1 making it a 16.]

  
“16.”

[Jay rolls some dice behind the screen, a soft chuckle and a eyebrow raise towards Jake before focusing back to Kai and Soobin.]

“ _You do manage to find one stall, although in contrast to the other stalls, this is a cart finely decorated which you can tell is more of a travelling merchant. Already from a distance that you’re slowly closing in on, you can see that the merchant has got some very interesting wares, including an instrument you’ve only very rarely seen in your studies as a bard. I’m going to ask the both of you, what’s your passive perception?” - Jay_

[Soobin and Kai both check their character sheets.

“11.” - HK

“12.” - SB

_“Your attention seems to be grabbed by the sudden soft <*thud*> of someone’s head colliding with the wooden pole you’re about to pass by, startling the both of you.” - Jake_

[Laughter breaks out on the table as Jake emulates the sound of the thud against wood.]

“’ ** _Take a look at this dude. Feeling a bit pole-ish, apparently?’” - HK_**

****

[The entire studio erupts into groans as Kai giggles at the pun he just made, with Taehyun smacking him.]

“That was worse than my pun! Yours doesn’t even make sense!” - TH  
“Hey, but it made you all groan and that’s what I wanted!” - HK  
  
“ _This comment happens after Taehyun’s character makes their own pun and gets glared at by Yeonjun’s character, by the way.” –_ Jake  
  


_“Oh this will be interesting…” - BG_

_“Bin and Legolas just kind of watch as Taehyun’s character gets walked up to by Yeonjun’s character, and Bin notices Beomgyu’s character hesitantly approaching in the distance. There’s a slight familiarity to their face, but Bin can’t quite put a name to it.” - Jake_

[Yeonjun clears his throat, while Soobin begins to immediately scramble to find his notepad to write down some notes.]

“’ ** _I generally don’t take too kindly to gettin’ insulted by randoms on the street. I may not be aware of my surroundings at times, but what damn right do you have to insult me with a terrible pun?’_** _and as he says that he hears the other pun from the big dude that Kai plays and he just growls. ‘ **Now you’re fuckin’ askin’ for trouble, ya hear me?!’” - YJ**_

****

**_“’That’s some attitude you’ve got there. Maybe you should look where you’re going?’_ ** _And my character is just going to grab the amethyst from his pocket and just clutch it tightly in his right hand. ‘ **And for the record, I’d be careful. Wouldn’t want you to get some third-degree burns, would we?’” - TH**_

_“Taehyun, roll for Intimidation. Yeonjun, roll for a Charisma saving throw. Let’s see if the sorcerer manages to actually have some hold over you?”_ – Jake

[Taehyun lets out a chuckle as he rolls his d20, a 21 with a nat 16 + his trained skill of Intimidation giving him a +5. Yeonjun lets out a huff as he rolls a 19 + his +1 for the Charisma saving throw. Beomgyu and Soobin look over at the dice rolls and character sheets and let out a gasp of awe.]

“ _My intimidation roll came to a 21.” - TH_

_“Are you for real? BY ONE? AAH! I got a 20 for my saving throw.” - YJ_

_“Woooooow. That is cutting it real close!” - HK_

_“Dan just kind of backs away from the sorcerer, because he’s not entirely sure if they’re bluffing or if they’re being serious and he just wants to play it safe.” - YJ_

_“’ **Smart move. You’re lucky it’s a good day out here today, mate.’** And while my character doesn’t put his amethyst back, he flashes a smile at the other. Does he know about Beomgyu’s character?” - TH_

_“No, I didn’t pick up on Beomgyu’s character being there.” - YJ_

_“I’m just going to walk over to the stall where there’s arrows being sold.” - SB_

_“Alright, give us a few seconds.” – Jay_

[Jay writes down some notes while Jake goes to grab a book and crack it open, flipping through the pages to find the right table.]

“ _So, as Bin approaches the stall, the first thing you notice is the particular seller of the items there is of elven appearance, but there’s traces of human in their appearance as well. They don’t notice you’re there until you start to look closer at what they have. <*gulps*> ‘ **Oh! I didn’t see you there. How may I be of service?’** As you’ve watched this unfold, Beomgyu, your character feels a flap of wing and feathers brush past as a turquoise-fronted parrot lands on your shoulder. Does anyone other than Beomgyu speak Auran?” _\- Jay

[The other players shake their heads, and Jake chuckles.]

“ _The others just hear this loud screech come from the parrot, before hearing less nosier squawks. <*makes said screech, before making squawks*> **‘Look at these people. Don’t they seem funny to you, Kuri?’** ” _

[The other players are caught off-guard by the near-perfect replication of the bird screech and squawks by Jake, while Beomgyu claps his hands together in tiny in excitement.]

“ _I raise my hand holding my staff to let Toto move from my shoulder onto my forearm._ I also can do the squawks as well. This is only in Auran, right? **‘ _It was amusing, I will admit to that, Toto. Did you find anything new from the forest birds?_** _< makes a perfect replication of the bird squawks> **’**_ There’s perks to having a pet bird and that’s learning how to make the same sounds! ** _”_**

****

[A resounding “oooh” is heard by the other players at the table during the back and forth squawking between Jake and Beomgyu.]

“ ** _’Not much worthwhile for us. They did say that there was some movement of a bunch of humanoids with something aggressive in their carts towards this town. Besides, I think it’s better to find out more information about what’s on your arm. Maybe make new allies.’_** _< *makes more squawks*> You realise around you, the other four individuals there seem to be staring at you with confusion as you’re engaging in conversation with your animal companion. What do you do?” _\- Jake

_“_ Aaaah! Oh man, what do I do? _I wave at them?” - BG_

_“There’s three though, because I’m still talking to the merchant at the stall.” - SB_

_“Oh that’s right, my bad. Yes, there’s three individuals there. So what do the three of you do in reaction to seeing this play out?” –_ Jake

“Yah, Beomgyu, I can’t believe you added Toto in. _As Dan, I’m going to walk up to this bird-talker and just kind of stare at them, mostly admiring the bird.” - YJ_

_“Does Aengdu notice the presence of the bird?” - TH_

_“Aengdu coils tighter around your chest in unease. He taps his tail against your skin to let you know that he’s hiding until you say it’s safe to come out.” -_ Jay _  
“_ You brought in Aengdu??? I thought he was given away…” - SB  
“Look, I still miss him! I figured why not…and it’s fitting if Beomgyu has his character with Toto?” - TH  
“This is true.” - BG

_“Just going to quickly interject, I think this might be the right time to go into a break if everyone’s okay with that? It’s been about an hour and a half since we started, and I think we’d all want to use the toilet and all?” - Jake_

[A unanimous agreement is made between the cast and the crew.]

“ _Alright folks, we’ll be back after a couple of minutes, I’m being told about 10 to 15 minutes? Yep, cool! Alright. Let’s go have our break? This is totally weird, I’m not used to cutting to break, bahaha!” – Jay_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This had to be broken up into two separate updates because I wouldn't be able to upload the entire chapter in full because it would be too much in one chapter! So you guys will be getting two updates! 
> 
> I have a curiouscat (https://curiouscat.qa/VYPERSENSOR) and a twitter (https://twitter.com/VYPERSENSOR) so if you want to ramble about what happens in the fic feel free to reach out to me on those platforms!
> 
> Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 2: Bandits!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward interactions, interesting relevations and a run in with a bandit raid in the town of El'dwyer slowly draws the five adventurers together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to clairfy a few things before you begin this chapter, mainly about encounter stuff to do with our wonderful party! 
> 
> \- Bards do not have proficiency in glaives but due to Legolas' background he has specific proficiency with glaives.  
> \- Due to his background and backstory (which is elaborated in the future, with future updates, hehe.) he has the ability to Rage like a Barbarian.  
> \- Bin has Vicious Mockery due to his subrace of Elf (High Elf).  
> \- Shifters (what Kuri is) can activate a more animalistic hybrid of themselves in the process called Shifting which grants him temporary hitpoints and a temporary increase to his armour class.  
> \- Critical Role gets referenced often and in the fic it is established in the timeline that the band members listen/watch Critical Role episodes.  
> \- Everyone will switch between English (using Italic formatting) and Korean (no italics) every so often.  
> \- THERE IS GRAPHIC DEPICITIONS OF VIOLENCE AND SOME GORE. You have been warned!
> 
> This is a VERY large chapter! I apologise! But also: WOO! Some action!! Hope you guys enjoy!

[Out of Character]

As the different cast members move about to grab food and use the bathroom, Jake and Jay compare notes and talk amongst themselves.

“This is turning out far better and more interesting than I anticipated. What say we throw them into an encounter?” Jake says, cracking open the Monster Manual as he flips through the pages to find stats for the encounter. “I think we could link them in with the backstories of both Kuri and Bin. Get some story going, get them roleplaying and bonding, yeah?” Jay adds on, beginning to get the equipment ready. “In the town?” Jay asks, and Jake nods. “Yep, do we have those minis ready to go?” He asks, and Jay begins to move over some things onto a side table out of view of the players, tiles and miniatures set up and prepared for a potential encounter.

“Bring over those trays of food for us, hyung?” Jake asks Jay, who nods as he gets up from the side table to bring over the food. As the players come back to the table to grab food to eat, the music videos change to the intro sequence once again, which has changed already to reveal the names of the characters. Both the cast and the DMs sing along to the theme song, a variety in range as they sing along, before it finishes as it fades back to a shot of the players & the two Dungeon Masters holding the final notes of theme song, ending with very enthusiastic clapping and cheers.

“ _And welcome back everyone! Wow, that was actually all in sync too?”_ Jake says, looking around with a surprised expression. “I would hope so, I mean, we’re all singers?” Taehyun says with snark, earning a few giggles and chuckles from the others. “ _This is true. Right, so we’ve come back from our break and I assume we’re about ready to leap right back into the game?”_ Jay asks, with the players reacquainting themselves with their character sheets and dice, notepads and pencils. There’s a few nods, and Jake just watches them before continuing.

“ _So, where we left off, the five different individuals are slowly beginning to intersect in the marketplace, just off to the side in a clearing, where they have begun to interact with each other. And now, we return to just that. So, Bin, we’re going to return to that conversation with the merchant and yourself, if that’s alright.”_

[In Game]

“Ah yeah, let’s do that. _I kind of look at the arrows and ask them what they have?_ ” – SB

“ _Alright. Let me just open back to that page back here. Right. So. **‘Ah, a hunter are you? Quite elegantly dressed I see. Well, depends on what kind of arrows you want? How many are you looking at purchasing?’** ” The merchant kind of leans a little closer to you, watching over your clothing and your weapons.” – Jake_

_“’ **I need to replenish my arrows…how much do you have on hand? I do not want to take all of your stock, but I do have enough coin, I feel.’**_ And I have about…let’s see… _I have quite a bit of currency on me. A lot of gold pieces.” – SB_

“Just how much currency do you even have?” – YJ

“Quite a lot. More than a standard starting level player character, judging by what I was told when creating my character.” – SB

[Jake sits there as Jay whispers into his ear.]

_“Alright. The current going rate for this particular stall is 10 gold piece per quiver full of 50 arrows. I do know you have plenty to cover that, and there’s about 20 or so quivers on the table. How much are you willing to purchase?” - Jake_

**_“’I think I’ll get five quivers.’_** _And I hand the merchant over 60 gold pieces. And a singular feather of the Amakiir Kingdom. ‘ **Pleasure doing business. May Pan watch over you.’**_ I then offer a handshake to the merchant to help seal the deal.” – SB  
  


_“Oh? Alright. Roll…roll me a Persuasion check, with advantage.” – Jay_

[There’s a look of realisation on Beomgyu’s face and shock from the other players as they watch him roll for the Persuasion check. 16 and 19, which he takes the higher and adds +3 as it’s a trained skill of his, making the 19 into a 22.]

“ _22\. I give them an intent look.” – SB_

_“Wow. Whew. Okay. The merchant immediately recognises the feather’s origin and is flustered, not even aware of the fact that you’ve given them 60 gold pieces, more than what they’d asked. **‘I- how did you-‘”** – Jake_

_“I put my finger up and my eyes change colour for a brief moment, pressing the finger to their lips._ I would need to take away 60 gold pieces from my currency, right?” - SB

“ _Yes, you take 60 gold pieces and remove one feather of the Amakiir Kingdom from your inventory. And in addition to that, he gives you five extra quivers, and makes a gesture of zipping his lips. He seems to understand that you might not be in a place to disclose that information judging by the eye colour change. He is started and does give you a deep bow.” – Jake_

“ _Wait, isn’t that like 500 arrows?”_ – TH

“What the hell was that, Soobin?” - YJ

[Soobin nods as he goes to erase and rewrite things on his character sheet, a smug yet content look.]

“ **’ _Please, do not draw too much attention. I would like to know where healing potions could be sold in this town? I would imagine there would be a plentiful supply for the hunters around these parts?’”_**

_“He kind of looks over to the east, away from the stalls. ‘ **A-ah, R-renegar… Renegar runs the Healer’s Tap. It’s where you’d find all kinds of potions and magical things, a-and I think he’d appreciate the coin…we’ve had less hunters come back than usual, which makes things hard for him to do the trading to get the potions, all that kind of thing…’”** – _Jake

[Soobin jots down a note on his notepad.]

“I want to do something that means I need to make sure he won’t disclose my identity to anyone. Would that be an Intimidation check? And what languages would he know?” – SB

“Wait, what? Is this some backstory stuff?” – YJ

“ _Yes, roll for Intimidation. Or you could use the one spell up your sleeve that you know would probably draw attention but make him know that he can’t disclose anything in fear of you going after him. He knows…_ let me see here… _He knows Common, Elvish and Draconic.”_

[Soobin rolls to make an Intimidation check, tilting his head in slight annoyance. 14, with a natural 13. He clears his throat out in a rough way, catching the attention of the members fixating on him.]

“I know if anyone else speaks Draconic they will hear what I’m saying, and that’s a risk I’m going to take with this. That was a 14, by the way. ‘ ** _If you dare reveal my identity I will personally seek you out and have you slain. I do not appreciate the notion of being backstabbed. The people of Amakirr will need all the strength and the leadership of the resistance they can get to take back the kingdom.’_** _<_ *said in a very gritty, deep kind of growl that still retains the posh Australian accent*>

[Jake rolls the dice behind the screen and lets out a soft chuckle as he looks at the dice in a slight surprise.]

“ _He’s absolutely terrified of the consequences and you can see you’ve definitely scared him. He’s shaking like a leaf and nods very quickly, gulps, and takes in a deep breath before speaking again. **‘I understand t-that. May Pan be w-with you. G-good day.’** He bows again to you, less noticeable this time around. And do you take your leave?” - Jake_

_“I do.”_ – SB  
“ _I do understand Draconic, so did I hear all of that?”_ – YJ

“ _Yes you do. Every single aspect of that translates perfectly, and it’s a little startling to see the tall elven individual speak in such a language that to you, would only really be seen by other dragonborn. You don’t often come across individuals that didn’t have links to any dragon patronage or an identifying factor that would make it apparent that they could speak Draconic. Everyone else can only hear this deep, creepy hissing come from Bin as he converses with the merchant.” – Jay_

_“I just turn my head in the direction of Bin and throw my hands up at him as he probably comes back to me, I assume. ‘ **What the hell was that, Bin? Not you telling me how I was like a completely different person and then you turn around and do this bullshit?’** ” – HK_

_“ **’I am sorry about that. But I am most surprised that you do not know about the beautiful language of Draconic? Maybe it is just a surprise given being an Elf knowing how to speak the language…’”** – SB_

_“I come up away from the hooded figure and the bird man to go up to Bin and just go ‘ **How the hell do you know Draconic, elf?’** Do I know about the Amakiir Kingdom?” _– YJ

“ _I would say, roll us a History check.” – Jay_

[Yeonjun grimaces hearing that, knowing his -1 modifier to Intelligence. He lets out a sigh of relief when he rolls a 15, the modifier taking it down to 14.]

“14.”

“ _Alright. The Amakiir Kingdom is definitely something you know about – your family have worked with them in the past, but in particular your father had some closer links to the Kingdom. You do know that the kingdom has been taken over by a combination of dark guilds working together, and ancient to adult chromatic dragons known as the Tiathar, of which you know Hephaestus is one of the sworn enemies of the Tiathar. You do not recollect the names of the dark guilds, however. Upon hearing the talk of the resistance, there’s an aura you can feel from Bin, but you probably know that it’s best not to talk about it if he has to threaten to keep things quiet.” – Jake_

_“As I recollect about what I know of the Ama…Amakiir? The Amakiir Kingdom, and look at Bin, I immediately realise what I’ve said. **‘Wait. No, don’t answer that question. I…heard what you said as well. You don’t need to tell me how you know about it. I’m…I’m sorry.’”** – YJ_

_“Roll for Persuasion.” – Jay_

_“_ Do I roll for Insight to see if he’s lying through his teeth?” – SB  
“ _Go ahead.” – Jay_

[Yeonjun rolls a 16, +1 to his Charisma, making it a 17. Soobin rolls a 12, adding +4 due to his training in the skill of Insight to make it a 16.]

“17.” – YJ

“16.” – SB

“ _The half-orc with the draconic tail seems absolutely genuine to you, and as you look him in the eyes you can see that he does look as if it pains him when he acknowledges about what happened.” – Jay_

_“ **’I…I do not know what to say. But if you know, then it’s best for you to keep quiet about it. Speaking of which…how did you get your tail? It is…per-peculiar that a half-orc has a dragonborn’s tail.’**_ And I gesture to his tail. It peaks my curiosity.” – SB

“ _Kuri finds this funny, and he just kind of laughs under his breath. He doesn’t understand social cues too well.”_ – BG

“ _The four of you just look at this individual laughing at the situation, feeling awkward and somewhat annoyed as they haven’t quite clearly read the air around them.” – Jay_

_“_ I shoot a deadpan glare at Kuri. **_‘Do you not know your manners, child?’_** ” – SB

“Do I interpret that as an insult? Because of my character’s age being defined as probably close to what would be the 20s/30s for us humans for his race?” – BG  
“ _I would say so, yes.” – Jay_

_“As this is happening, Terry just kind of moves away and puts his hands up in the air. He doesn’t want to be involved in this argument.” – TH_

_“I get absolutely mad. **‘THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME? I AM NOT A CHILD! YOU WANT TO FUCKIN’ GO, MATE?’** and he just unleashes his claws._ Do I make an Intimidation check? _” – BG_

_“Oh my god, wow. Uh, yeah! Intimidation check for you Beomgyu, and I want the rest of you to roll a Charisma saving throw to see whether or not he actually scares the rest of your characters.” – Jay_

[Beomgyu rolls a 19, but ends up with 17 due to a -2 Charisma modifier. Yeonjun ends up with a 13 for his save, Soobin with a 12 for his save, Taehyun gets a 19 for his save, and Kai rolls the first natural 20 of the campaign, making the crew erupt in a cheer, as he gets a 23 due to his +3 in his Charisma.]

“I got a 17, I rolled a 19 but I wasn’t lying when I said Kuri was bad at social cues. Charisma stat of 7 does wonders!” – BG  
“ _I am surprised that even worked, damn.”_ – Jay

“13.” – YJ

“ _12\. He definitely scares Bin.” – SB_

_“19. Terry is just unphased but he also doesn’t want to actually cross this angry person.” - TH_

_“Natural 20. Plus a +3 to my Charisma makes that a 23. I’m basically the same as Terry, in this situation.” – HK_

_“Wow. Okay, yeah. You guys can figure this out yourself.” – Jake_

_“’ **By Pan’s pipes, I am sorry!’** Bin just throws his fans up and kind of flinches. He doesn’t like conflict.” _– SB  
“ _’ **SHOULDA THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU INSULTED ME!’**_ _He does realise people are kind of staring at him and he knows that he’s causing a ruckus. I think Toto pecks at him.” – BG_

_“Indeed, Toto pecks at Kuri quite hard. **‘The hell are you doing? This isn’t how you make friends! Be nicer, even if they insult you!’** The rest of you see just this parrot angrily pecking and swooping at Kuri who just takes the hits.” – Jake_

_“I just take the hits. ‘ **Alright alright! Okay! I get it, Toto! I’ll apologise!’** And Kuri just kind of puts his hands up in defeat, Toto probably just perches on his shoulders and looks to the others. **‘I am…sorry…I…I am not used to these kinds of interactions…it’s been a while since I last did have these sorts of interactions.’** And would I…roll…persuasion?” – BG_

_“Yes indeed, you would roll for Persuasion. Would that be with or without disadvantage, Jay?” – Jake_

_“Probably disadvantage.” – Jay_

_“What’s disadvantage?” – SB_

_“Probably the opposite of advantage, where we roll two d20s and use the lower roll?” – YJ  
“That’s correct!” – Jay_

[Beomgyu lets out a noise of worry. He rolls a 12 and a natural 1. He lets out a loud, boisterous laugh.]

“ _ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I GOT A NATURAL FUCKING 1! AND BECAUSE IT’S A CHARISMA BASED SKILL WITH DISADVANTAGE, I HAVE A NEGATIVE ONE RESULT!”_

[The entire cast and crew burst into laughter, with Kai and Yeonjun promptly falling off their chairs with laughter at the same time, while Jay and Jake behind the DM screen just become hidden from the camera as they wheeze from the result. It takes a solid ten minutes for the cast & crew to calm down from the hilarious turn of events, with a few giggles still persisting.]

“ _That was so funny, oh my god. I didn’t think I’d see this happen in this game! Out of all the games I’ve run and watched, the last time I saw something like that was with Nott the Brave back in Campaign 2 of Critical Role! Ahh, that was good! Right. Yeah, everyone just absolutely does not buy into your apology. You come off as very insincere and very blunt.” – Jay_

_“I prepare myself to cast Shocking Grasp, clutching my amethyst crystal tighter.” – TH_

_“Oddly convenient. Are you reading my mind, mate?” – Jake_

_“Uh, no? Why? Oh. OH. REALLY?” – TH  
“Oh yes.” – Jay_

_“Right! So, as that is happening, I want to know what everyone’s passive perception is, and for you all to roll for initiative. That’s a d20 with the dexterity modifier added to it.” – Jake_

_“Combat time folks!” - YJ_

_[There’s a collective groan as they all go to check their character sheets and begin to roll for initiative. Jay is rapidly scribbling down notes and other things while Jake brings up from the small table the large battle tile map, miniatures and buildings placed on the map by Jake. The crew gasp as they start watching the setup of the battle map.]_

_“12.” – YJ_

_“12.” – BG_

_“8!” – SB_

_“7…” – TH_

_“6!” – HK_

_“Alright! Jay, do you need time to set up the initiative tracker?” – Jake_

_“Should only be a minute at beeest.” – Jay_

_[Jay is continuing to write down things and rolling some dice.]_

_“This is nerveracking. Hearing so much dice rolls from Jay..” – TH_

_“Get ready to endure it for as long as this campaign goes for! Alright, it’s time! Take it away, Jakey!” – Jay_

_“Alright then. So as you’re currently distrustful of each other, the rest of you – wait, you guys are like from 9 to 12 for passive perception? Ah yep. Right so apart from the person who is a 9, the others hear angry yelling and <*imitates barking dogs to an uncanny degree*> through the air as people around you suddenly gasp and raise their hands in the air, as if they’re used to this sort of thing. Coming up from behind you are about 4 bandits, two dogs and an individual who you recognise by the way his armour appears and his weapons you see on him as the bandit captain. <*raises his voice, turning into a very heavy drawl*> ‘ **Right! Y’all know the deal! If ya want to keep ya lives, don’t interfere with my men! You will all answer to me, Nacho!’** He gestures his hand to the stalls as another 3 bandits make their way to pillage through the stalls. What do you do?” – Jake_

_“_ Do we have time to react?” – TH  
“ _Yes. But not enough time to begin attacks just yet.”_ – Jay

“ _As a Paladin of Hephaestus, this strikes a chord with me that just doesn’t sit right. ‘ **HEY! What’s the damn reason for all this? Don’tya have anythin’ betta to do?’** And you can probably tell that by the way Dan gets angry I get a lot more deeper with my Texan accent, cause that’s what I wanted to do for him! Anyway, he grabs the large lance from his back and twirls it, ready to attack.” – YJ_

_“The leader, Nacho, just inches a little bit closer to you and spits in your general direction. ‘ **The fuck do you think you are? Disgustin’ hybrid! Pokin’ around my business will get ya killed! Move on! Or we’ll kill ya!’** And that just makes you angry, this strikes a chord in you that makes you see red.” – Jake_

_“’ **For someone called Nacho, you reek of corn starch! Who listens to someone like you?’** And I draw my glaive.” – HK_

_[Another collective groan comes from the table, mostly from the two Dungeon Masters.]_

_“I just shout out because I’m eager for a good fight. ‘ **For someone who looks like they can barely keep their head above the ground, resorting to insults on individuals like my good friend here due to their appearance is rather uncouth and not of leadership quality. Perhaps we should teach you a lesson, punk.’** ” – TH_

_“_ Bin kind of just draws his bow and narrows his eyes as he eyes off the bandits and the dog, reckoning in his mind on how hard or easy they’re going to be.” – SB

“Kuri is just claws out and readying himself for a fight. Toto just flies off into the air to get a better idea of our fighting potential.” – BG

“ _Alright. Nacho just looks at you with absolute anger, and throws two daggers at Terry. What’s your Armour Class, Taehyun?” – Jay_

[The cast starts yelling in shock as Taehyun scrambles to find the Armour Class value on the character sheet. Kai begins to sing the pre-chorus of New Rules which earns the cheers of the cast and crew.]

“ _Already our bard is singing! Wait, is that in character, Huening?” – SB_

_“No, not in character, not yet. I’d have to find a way to fit it in before I do sing it in character. Oh, by the way- <*looks into the camera directly*> all of the songs in our discography will eventually be sung and played by Legolas himself! You’ll see why!” – HK_

_“Oh yeah, that’s canon alright.” – YJ_

_“Guys- I-“ – Jay_

_“DM! My armour class is 11. I am very squishy.” – TH_

_[Jay looks surprised at Taehyun while the others except for Kai yell in despair. Kai stops singing, and looks back into the camera again.]_

_“Just so everyone is aware, I will break into song so often in this game, given I’m a bard and apparently that’s a thing bards do, and I won’t just be singing our songs, I’ll even cover songs too! Only ones that I think fit the moment too. Don’t be surprised!” – HK_

_“Oh god, did we think this was the right decision for someone who’s an idol to be a bard?” – Jake  
“You let him be the bard! I had no participation in that decision, that was you!” – Jay_

_“Hey, it’s all fair given we’re all idols. At least it’s not an entire party full of bards. That’s what we are in real life?” – YJ  
“Oh my gawd…” – SB_

_“Anyway, so, what happens to Terry?” – TH_

_[Jay acknowledges Taehyun’s question and does the two rolls, grimacing slightly and hissing a little bit.]_

_“That’s a 17 and 14. Both hit. <*rolls some more dice*> Oh that’s not too bad. That’s 3 hitpoints of damage.” – Jay_

_“That takes a third of my health away. Oh god. I should’ve chosen a different class to begin with. Or got a better Constitution score.” – TH  
“You are so squishy, oh my god.” – YJ_

_“_ Squishy?” – BG  
“Basically easy pickings for the enemy, not a lot of hitpoints. They’ll go after him more, especially with that low of an Armor class…” – SB  
“Oh. Taehyun-ah, you had to make him so squishy?” – BG  
“I wasn’t expecting to head into combat so early! What did you want me to do??” – TH

“~ _Bring it, bring the pain on, yeah~” – HK_

_[More cheers from the others except for Taehyun who gives his best friend the eye daggers.]_

_“Right, so this bandit there is going to use their light crossbow to shoot at Kuri here… <*checks the distance*> Yep, that works out. <*Rolls the dice, grimacing, and then puts his head in his hands, letting out a groan*> Oh good god, maybe I have second thoughts about this. Uh. Kuri, what’s your Armour Class?” – Jay_

_“That doesn’t sound good.” – SB  
“My armour class is…15.” – BG  
“This bandit just landed the very first Natural 20 of this campaign. No, wait, that’s the…didn’t you get a natural 20 earlier, Kai?” – Jay  
“Yeah I got it on the save for the Intimidation check for his character earlier.” – Kai_

_[Jay takes some quick notes down.]_

_“Yeah, this bandit has got the first enemy Nat20. <*rolls two dice for the damage*> Right, so going to quickly explain for clarity’s sake – we use a rule with the critical hit system is if you roll a natural 20, you double the dice you roll. So this is going to hurt juuuuuust a bit for any of the squishier characters, which means….Terry, you better watch out bud.” – Jay_

_“_ Noted…” – TH

“ _That is 5 hitpoints of damage to you, Kuri.” – Jay  
“Oh you know, just. Half of my hitpoints GONE.” – BG  
“Blame the dice gods!” – Jay_

_“Everything’s about the dice gods when it doesn’t go in your favour, Jay! But it’s always about you if it goes in your favour!” – Jake_

_“You know nothing, Jon Snow.” – Jay_

_[Jake begins to change the music that plays on the stream as it goes from a general instrumental drum to ON by BTS, earning some cheers from Yeonjun, Beomgyu and Kai who mimic the introductory drum track]_

_“Alright, Kuri! Your turn. What would you like to do?” – Jay_

_“AW YEAH! FIRST TURN!_ I think I’m not as confident right now to do everything in English for the combat stuff, if that’s okay.” – BG  
“ _That’s fine by us!” – Jake_

_“_ Alright. I’m going to move – where is he? Oh! Yeah I’m going to move to the one who shot at me and I’m going to just. <*mimics the sound of an angry grizzly bear*> I take my…what’s the difference between bonus actions and normal actions again?” – BG  
“ _An action would be the main attack, for example. Some classes allow for attacks to happen in their bonus action but probably not you just yet. Bonus actions are like smaller things that you could do on the off-hand side of things.” – Jake_

_“_ So would me Shifting fall under bonus action?” – BG  
“ _Absolutely. So you take your bonus action to use your Shift?”_ – Jay

“Yeah, I’m going to just Shift and that…<*reads his character sheet for more details*> That allows me to gain 5 temporary hitpoints, and a +1 to my total armour class during the time I’m Shifted. And that lasts for a round? Wait, a minute.” – BG  
“ _So a round would be roughly one minute, so yeah, a round sounds about right. A turn is about six seconds. Temporary hitpoints…okay so that means any future attacks will drain those temporary hitpoints before they drain your actual current hitpoints. Alright. Are you going to roll to attack?” – Jay_

_“Absolutely! That is… what dice is this?” – BG_

_“Get it Beomgyu!~” – SB_

_“So to attempt to land a hit on any enemy is to roll a d20, plus your modifier to hit. So on your sheet, where it says +4 would be what you add to that roll with the d20, and then I or Jake will tell you if that hits or misses.” – Jay_

_[Beomgyu rolls the d20 and gets a 15, adding his ability modifier to the roll which makes it a 19 due to the +4, to which he’s unsure and looks at Jay.]_

_“Does a 19 hit?” – BG_

_“Absolutely does. Now roll the damage dice!” Jay_

_[Beomgyu giggles with glee and grabs the dice and rolls.]_

_“3 hitpoints of damage.” – BG  
“Hey, that’s decent! Well done on being the first one to land a hit!” – Jake  
“Woooo! Go Beomgyu! Go Beomgyu!” – HK  
“Alright, Dan, you’re up!” – Jay_

_[Yeonjun scans the battle map and then looks at his character sheet, readying his d20 in his hand to roll. He points to the bandit that stands right next to Kuri.]_

_“I am going to move up to them and remain about 10 feet away, and I’m going to use my lance and stab then right through the centre.” – YJ  
“Gotcha. 10 feet, you said? Also, roll to see if you hit.” – Jay_

_“Yep.”_

_[Jay moves the miniature representing Dan closer to Kuri and the bandit, while Yeonjun rolls and gets a 12.]_

_“12.” – YJ_

_“You’re veeeery lucky. That just hits. Roll for damage.” – Jay_

_“Do we get to know their armour class?” – TH  
“Unfortunately, no, that’s metagaming and we don’t do that at this table, guys. We keep things fair.” – Jake_

_“_ Fair enough.” – TH

[Yeonjun grabs the dice he needs and rolls.]

“ _That’s…10 hitpoints of damage.” – YJ_

_“ <*whistles*> So your lance just punches right through him before he could even take the opportunity to shoot at you or anyone else and now he has a lance stuck inside of him. He’s pretty much on death’s door. Now it’s actually that bandit’s turn, and he’s going to try to pull himself off from the lance. <*rolls some dice*> Which he succeeds, somehow. He pulls himself off and tries to make an attempt to run for it, and you can make another attack against him, Yeonjun.” – Jay_

_“_ What the fuuuck?” – SB  
“Metal.” – TH  
“ _I am so attempting to finish him off.” – YJ_

[Yeonjun rolls again to hit.]

“14 hits?” – YJ  
“ _Aye.” – Jay_

[Yeonjun rolls for damage. His face lights up with the results.]

“6 hitpoints of damage. That surely kills him.” – YJ

“ _It definitely does. As you strike through the bandit’s upper back, your lance just pierces from the back and essentially skewers him, and breaking through the other side you can just see the tip of your lance covered with gore and the body crumbling to the ground, bleeding out. Right, Jake, this is your time to shine!” – Jay_

[The cast and some of the crew groan in disgust as Jay describes the killing strike, with Yeonjun happily clapping as he gets the first kill of the night, a smug smile on his face. Jake gets up and takes a few seconds to look at Jay’s notes, having to squint a little bit to discern some of the notes.]

“Your handwriting is atrocious, hyung.” – Jake

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” – Jay

“ _Right! <*claps hands together, grabbing some dice to roll*> So one of the mastiffs you saw earlier, there’s two of them. One of them is going to attempt to attack Dan. Does 15 hit?” – Jake_

_“Nope! Just misses. AC of 16, baby!” – YJ_

_“Alright, so it tries to take a bite at you, but your armour gets in the way and your tail just goes- <*makes a sound to mimic a thud*> sending the mastiff onto it’s side and about 5 feet away.” – Jake_

_“PREHENSILE TAILS, BITCHES!” – YJ_

_“I’m surprised the staff are even letting us swear this much…” – TH_

“They did say that this show was going to be authentic to us to basically be ourselves without the repercussions around swearing and the like. As long as we aren’t going too crazy with the more…<*eyebrow wiggles*> stuff.” – SB  
  


[There’s an eruption of giggles across the table.]

“ _AND ON THAT NOTE, it is actually your turn, Bin.” – Jake_

_“Oh! Okay! Ahhhh! Right okay. I’m going to move in front of Terry and stand in front of him like I’m protecting him, and I’m going to grab an arrow, my eyes are gonna flicker to purple for a moment, and then I’m going to shoot at the cornchip.” – SB_

_“CORNCHIP?” – HK  
“CORNCHIPPPPPPPPPPP!” – BG_

_“I like how we call him anything but his actual name and make puns because of his starchy goodness.” – TH_

_“YOU GUYS ARE WORSE THAN ME WITH THESE JOKES OH MY GOD.” – YJ_

_[Jake and Jay just hold back laughter, head in their hands.]_

_“You named him Nacho, Jake. This is on you.” – Jay_

_“It absolutely is on my stomach influencing my brain. Right, so. Roll to hit him, Soobin?” – Jake_

_[Soobin rolls the dice.]_

_“That’s a 15.” – SB  
“Alright, that hits. Damage?” – Jake_

_[Soobin rolls some more dice.]_

_“6 hitpoints. I get him in the left collarbone.” – SB_

_“Alright. You land a hit, a <*mimics the sound of an arrow shooting into flesh*> as it lands in the fleshy part above the left collarbone. He is not too pleased with that.” – Jake_

_“Well I mean, if I got shot by a badass I would be pissed off too!” – YJ_

_“Alright. Terry, your turn.” – Jake_

_“Time to shine. Get a little bit trigger happy here. I move about like. 5 feet across, pat the back of Bin and go ‘ **Thanks mate. I’ve got this though, don’t need to worry about me, mate.’** And I grab out my light crossbow and just shoot at the chip. <*rolls dice*> 14?” – TH_

_“It just misses Nacho, buuuut as he just tilts his head back to dodge your bolt, it does get the bandit behind him. Roll damage.” – Jake_

_“Alright. <*rolls dice*> 6 hitpoints of damage. 6 is our lucky number!” – TH_

_“6 hitpoints? Nice. You watch as the bolt just enters into the bandit behind Nacho, getting her in the right shoulder.” – Jake_

_“Lefty domination, motherfuckers!” – TH_

_[The players burst into laughter at Taehyun’s comment, and Taehyun’s just wiggling and headbanging his head as the music changes to Reclaimer – Halo 2 Soundtrack]_

_“Dungeon Master, who the hell is choosing the music? I love it.” – TH_

_“Thank you. Right, so the second mastiff is going to make an attack against Kuri. <*rolls*> Oh damn it, if you weren’t still Shifted! 15 does not hit?” – Jake  
“HAHA! That does not hit. Temporary 16, yeaaaaaaaaaaaH!” – BG_

_“Alright. Legolas! You’re up. What do you do?” – Jake  
“Heh. Alright. I’m going to just twirl the glaive, kind of just prance about on the balls of my feet, and then I just rush forward and just <*stands up and gestures a stabbing motion with an imaginary glaive, complete with noise*> with my glaive. <*rolls*> 22.” – HK_

_[Jay and Jake look at Kai with surprise while the others give a surprised gasp, Kai looking smug as he nods his head and rolls dice after he looks at Jake to see if he needs to roll the dice, who gives him a nod of confirmation.]_

_“7 hitpoints. That’s not bad, but I can definitely do better. I just kind of flick my head to have my hair just wave elegantly.” – HK  
“You sound so smug right now.” – TH  
“Because I am. What do you want me to do about it?” – HK_

_“_ I have yet to hear that much sass from him. Who are you and what did you do to our HueningKai?” – YJ

“Probably from you, sass master.” – TH  
“I thought that’s you, Tae.” – YJ

“Is it?” – BG  
“Does it matter?” - SB

[Jay sighs and softly facepalms his face.]

“Right, so. _Wait, sorry. Right! So! The bandit you were fighting, Kuri, grabs out her schimitar and swings it at you, <*rolls*> that’s a 20 to hit. Not a natural 20, I should elaborate.” – Jake  
“Ouch. That hits.” – BG_

_“ <*rolls*> Oh, not too bad. 3 hit points. Your temporary hitpoints go down to 2 temporary hitpoints.” – Jake  
“Oh bear!” – BG_

_[Jay takes down some more notes.]_

_  
“There’s another bandit, one that you guys haven’t engaged, that takes aim at you as well, Kuri, seeing you as the largest threat there and takes a shot at you with their crossbow. <*rolls, shakes his head with amazement, scoffing*> Okay, this is ridiculous with what the dice gods are doing. That’s a 21, with a natural 19 for the roll. That hits, so now I’m going to roll for damage…<*rolls, immediately grimacing and just patting Jay’s arm*> That is 8 hitpoints of damage.” – Jake  
_“Are you fucking kidding me? _That knocks me un…unconsciiiiouss?” – BG  
“Yeowch. I had a feeling that was the case. You lose your Shifted form, which means you can’t use it again until you’ve had a short or long rest, and you fall unconscious. On your next turn I’ll need you to start rolling for a death saving throw. Right. <*claps his hands together*> Nacho’s turn. Going to point out that the initiative order is now back at the top and we’re in a new round. He’s going to try and attack Legolas and <*rolls*> oh. Oh wow. That’s…he rolled a nat 2, guys. So he trips over his own feet and just barely manages to catch himself. Wow. Alright. The bandit behind Nacho has their turn, and takes aim at Terry with their crossbow and fires, <*rolls*> oof. That’s a 17?” – Jake_

_“That hits. They’re hitting good.” – TH  
  
_

_[Jake takes in a deep breath as he rolls, gritting his teeth.]_

_“These dice with my hands mean that there’s a lot of good rolls. That’s 7 damage..” – Jake_

_“Oh for- that knocks me unconscious. -1 HP right now.” – TH_

_“Oh yeah. Kuri’s also -1 HP. Buddies!” – BG_

_“_ THAT’S NOT SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE! YAH!” – YJ

“ _Well, it is Kuri’s turn now. Right, I need you to roll a d20. Just a straight d20 roll.”_ – Jake

[The tension is thick in the air, the worried expressions on the cast’s faces, to the studious looks of the DMs as Beomgyu hesitantly grabs the d20, holds it in his hands clasped together, mutters a few things under his breath, and then rolls the dice.]

“That’s a 11.” – BG

“ _You have a success. So mark that on your character sheet where it says Successes. One so far. You need 3 to stabilise and not die.” – Jake_

_“My ancestors must be watching over me.” – BG_

_“Dan, your turn.” – Jake_

_“Right. He sees everything that’s happened, having seen Terry and Kuri just get taken out and he gets so angry and fired up he’s going to just <*gets up and angrily yells with a heavy thrusting motion with the imaginary lance*> into the fucker. <*rolls*> 18…22. 22 to hit?” – YJ_

_“Definitely hits. Roll for damage.” – Jake  
  
_

_[Yeonjun rolls, the ambiance at the table heavy and tense as the music changes to a more intense track.]_

_“8. I just puncture right through him like I did that other bandit.” – YJ_

_“Right. So you do that – your lance is deep enough in him that it stays in place, but doesn’t go out the other side. He spits at you and growls at you in anger. <*rolls*> Wow. Damn. These dogs are doing terribly. The mastiff just trips over your tail, Dan. Bin, your turn.” – Jake_

“I’m going to take a shot at the bandit who shot Terry unconscious. And I’m going to mutter in Elvish, ‘ ** _Pan, if you are watching over me, grant me the killing blow.’_** _ <*rolls, shrieking*> THAT WORKED! Pardon my language but I got a NATURAL FUCKING 20!” – SB_

_“NO WAY!” – YJ  
“Oh my god, are you for real? NO WAY! HE’S FOR REAL!” – TH  
“You’re about to just Hanzo this up aren’t you?” – Jay_

_“Roll for damage!” – Jake_

_“It’s double the damage dice I roll, right?” – SB  
“Yep.” - Jake  
  
_

[Soobin rolls two d10s, adding them together and having a smug look on his face, as he has the biggest bunny scrunch of a grin plastered onto his face.]

“ _That’s 12 hitpoints of damage.” – SB_

_“No fuckin’ way. Right…It’s as if Pan heard you and granted you a steady aim as you pull two arrows from your quiver and shoot them at the same time, getting the bandit right in both eyes, instantly killing them. How is that for a first kill?” – Jake_

_“THAT WAS FAR MORE BADASS THAN MY FIRST KILL AND YOU DESERVE THIS SOOBINNIE!” – YJ_

_“Taehyun, you need to do what Beomgyu did with Kuri and roll me a straight d20.” – Jake_

_“Dice can’t be straight. They fuck anyone over. <*rolls*> Oh god. They’ve fucked me over. 5.” – TH_

_“Was…was that…never mind.” – YJ_

_“That’s one fail so far. Mark that on your character sheet please.” – Jay_

“This is baaaaaad.” – SB

[Jake rolls some dice, momentarily turning his head.]

“ _The mastiff is going to move, and <*moves the miniature closer to Legolas*> Bin has Attack of Opportunity against the mastiff. So, because your character would realistically take the opportunity to shoot the dog to stop it attacking your ally, so roll to hit it, Soobin.” – Jake_

_[Soobin rolls, cocking an eyebrow up.]_

_“16?” – SB_

_“Hits! I’m not going to get you to roll damage for this as you shot it right in the head and it just dies right there before it can make any additional attack.” – Jake_

_“Wow, that’s two kills in a row. Soobin, legendary player of the game!” – YJ_

_“Legolas, your turn.” – Jake_

_[Kai rolls, letting out a victory screech and clapping his hands together.]_

_“What’d you roll?!” – TH_

_“Natural 20.” – HK_

_“No way. No fucking way.” – YJ_

[Jake, Jay and Yeonjun get up from their seats to look at the natural 20, and Kai stands up as Yeonjun pulls an additional cameraman to point the camera at the natural 20. There’s a loud chanting of “HueningKai” from the others as Jay and Jake just give him a high five. They make their way back to their side of the table.]

“ _Well, that is one hell of a roll! Roll for damage!” – Jake_

_“Alright then. <*rolls a couple of dice, whistling with content*> 17 hitpoints of damage. I give him a direct glare as I swing the glaive down to cut into his left side.” – HK_

_“You just cut right into his side and he definitely takes the hit, grasping his side as the glaive cuts into his side. He’s definitely bleeding profusely, you’ve hurt him quite a bit. Now the bandit that kind of just took down Kuri is going to try and protect their captain and is going to shoot at Legolas, <*rolls*>, aaaand misses completely with a natural 2. Nacho is very pissed, very angry, and rather injured. He’s going to use his last dagger against you, Bin, because he sees you as a very big threat as you’re taking his men down, and <*rolls*> that’s a 15 to hit?” – Jake_

_“Oof. That hits.” – SB_

_“Alright then and he… <*rolls*> it’s not too crazy with the damage, you take two hit points and the dagger just nicks your cheek and your ear. You do lose a special earring though due to the dagger.” – Jake_

_“Oh I get mad. That’s special to me.” – SB_

_[Jake rolls, and bursts out into a chuckle, clapping his hands together while shaking his head.]_

_“So, another bandit goes to make an attack against you Dan, but he rolled a natural 2 and completely misses, so what do you do when dodging his attack?” – Jake_

_“I’m going to let go of my lance and duck out of the way, rolling back and taking my shield off my back and slide it onto my off-hand where the X tattoo is and that gives me a +2 to my Armor Class so that makes it harder for you to hit me, hah!” – YJ_

_“Alright, you do that. Beomgyu, roll another death saving throw for Kuri.” – Jake_

“Okay, okay, okay. <*rolls*> _Is it above 10, DM? For the save?” – BG  
“Yeah, above 10 to get a success. What’d you get?” – Jay  
“A 11.” – BG_

_“Alright, that is indeed a success. That’s two successes! You just need one more to make you come back to consciousness.” – Jake_

_“Alright, Dan, what do you do? It’s your turn.” – Jake_

_“I’m going to grab out my longsword with my dominant hand and go to attack the bandit that tried to attack me. <*rolls*> 11 to hit?” – YJ_

_“Does not hit. Just does not hit. Your longsword meets his scimitar and there’s just this <*mimics the sound of metal clanging against metal*> as he parries your hit.” – Jake_

“Fuck.” – YJ

[Jay takes back over with the encounter, a nod as he swaps out with Jake, a few whispers into his ear from Jake to give an update of what notes he’s added in the encounter. He rolls some dice.]

“ _Alright, so. The remaining mastiff tries to attack you, Bin, but it rolled a natural 2 and it runs and trips over Kuri’s unconscious mass of body and falls prone. Speaking of which, Bin, your turn.” – Jay_

_“I will take a shot at the bandit attacking Dan. <*rolls, grimacing*> _5 does not hit, does it?” – SB

“ _No that does not. Your arrow just hits against Dan’s very intricately plated metal shield.” – Jay_

_“_ I swear under my breath in Elvish. **_‘Give me a damn break, Loki. Fucking hell.’_ ” – **SB

“Taehyun, best friend, please get a good roll, I am so worried you’ll actually die in the first episode.” – HK

“I’ll try. <*rolls, exclaims when he gets over 10*> A SUCCESS! That’s a 15.” – TH

“ _Oh! Finally you guys are starting to get the hang of initiative, that’s good! Right, so mark that down. Legolas, your turn.” – Jay_

_“_ I’m going to make another swing at him with my glaive. <*rolls, hissing with annoyance*> I don’t think that hits him. 11.” – HK

“ _I see you guys need a break from the English, so for those that do, that’s fine. Do whatever feels comfier to you. Yeah, that does not hit. He parries your glaive with his scimitar.” – Jay_

“The parrying is beginning to irk me to no end…” – TH

“You’re not even directly fighting these guys, you’re still one foot in the grave buddy.” – SB

“I know, I know.” – TH

[Jay rolls some more dice and begins to move about some things, scribbling some additional notes down.]

_“Alright. The bandit attacking you, Dan, is going to miss with a 12 to hit, I assume?” – Jay_

_“Yep, completely misses. Armor Class of 18 now.” – YJ_

_“His scimitar just <*imitates the sound of metal clanging against a metal shield*> against your shield, bringing up in time to protect yourself. Now Nacho, remember he still has the lance inside of him, pulls the lance out from inside of him and throws it to the side as he then takes a swing at Legolas with his scimitar and <*rolls*> does a 14 hit?” – Jay_

_“_ Ouch, yeah. I share the same Armor Class as Terry, 11. So he hits it.” – HK

“ _Oof, man. <*rolls*> You only take 2 hitpoints damage, and he basically bonks you on the head with the blunt end of his scimitar. <*rolls again, whistling*> Ouch. So, Legolas, remember that bandit that was having a misfire with their crossbow? He took a shot at you with a 13 to hit, and <*rolls again*> you take another 2 damage.” – Jay_

_“_ Aw fuck, the hell?” – HK

“OH GOD! Are you dead?” – BG

“No, I’m still alive. Only down 4 hitpoints. Still got 5 left.” – HK

“Speaking of which, I should probably roll for that death save. <*rolls, cheering*> ALRIGHT! THIRD PASS! What do I do, Jay?” – BG

“ _Alright! So you regain 2 hitpoints which brings you back to 1 hitpoint. You are absolutely in pain, but this is not new to you.” – Jay_

[Yeonjun rolls his dice, knowing his turn is after Beomgyu’s, raising his eyebrows with interest.]

“ _I’m going to take another chance to try and get rid of this bandit that keeps attacking me. I got a 15.” – YJ_

_“Hits.” – Jay_

_“Finally! <*rolls*> 5 hitpoints.” – YJ_

_“Your longsword finally finds purchase into their shoulder, right where the neck connects to the shoulder, that fleshy bit there. The mastiff is going to take it’s turn to try to get back up.” – Jay_

_“I know it’s my turn, so I’m going to run up to the mastiff, put away my bow and grab out my shortswords and I’m going to attack the dog. <*rolls twice*> Alright. First attack I assume hits with a 16, and the second misses with a natural 1.” – SB_

_“Wow, nice. Right, so roll for damage for that first attack.” – Jay_

_“Right._ <*rolls*> 3 hitpoints.” – SB  
“ _So as you swing down, the Mastiff doesn’t see you draw your blades as you hit with your shortsword, slicing down it’s back. The second blade just <*makes a wooshing sound*> misses it. You’re a tiny bit rusty with the blade. Taehyun, your turn.” – Jay_

_“Okay. <*rolls*> _Oh for fuck’s sake, really? 5.” – TH

“ _Second fail. Mark it down. Legolas, your turn.” – Jay_

_“_ I’m going to- wait. _Right, everyone. I am going to look to an idol in the Dungeons and Dragons sphere as I’ve been getting into Critical Role in the lead up into these games, and I am going to look up to Travis Willingham’s playstyle of a Barbarian with Grog, and I’m going to say that Jay and Jake allowed this, since some people might not think this is part of a traditional bard playstyle.” – HK_

_“Oh! He’s doin’ it!” – Jake  
“So, to clarify, you’ll find out later in his backstory but he does have two features from the Barbarian class as part of his specific background and character, so we’re allowing him to do this. We helped create everyone’s characters with them. So, I’m giving you the spotlight to say this.” – Jay_

_“After the attacks, I get mad, I feel the pain, and I can feel the energy of the bear within my blood. I am going to activate something called The Fury of the Bear, which is my phrase for RAGING and the others can see as my red eyes turn black with two tiny white dots and I let out this <*lets out an angry scream*> and going to attack the cornchip bastard. <*rolls, letting out an evil-esque laugh*> So 19 plus the rage damage plus my glaive…that is 25. <*rolls again, letting out an annoyed groan*> only four! Damn! Hitpoints! I’m still in rage.”_

_[_ The group cheers and whoops as Kai announces he goes into a rage, with an angered “boo” when he rolls for a measly amount of damage]

“ _That’s still good damage regardless. He watches as you just slice into him again. Right, so, now, the bandit who shot at Legolas is going to now draw his attention to Dan and takes a shot with the crossbow, <*rolls, lets out a gasp*> god damn, what is with the natural 20s tonight? That’s a natural 20 against you. <*rolls the damage dice*> Ouch, 9 hit points of damage.” – Jay_

_“_ Goooooood, where’s that luck for us? I am very close to falling unconscious. Damn. _I have one hitpoint left.” –_ YJ

[Jay and Jake write notes down.]

“ _Alright then. So, the captain is going to just keep fighting you, Legolas. He’s not put off you just basically going wild in front of him, and <*rolls*> just manages to hit you with his scimitar with a 12. <*rolls*> That’s 4 hitpoints of damage, buuuut - <*grabs the Player’s Handbook to flick through to find the page he needs, then closes the book*> you do take only 2 hitpoints of damage due to the resistance to piercing damage granted by your Rage. <*rolls*> Okay then, so the bandit you’re directly fighting, Dan, was going to attack you but he literally has his scimitar just slip out of his hand and it falls to the ground and he’s now unarmed. What do you do, this is by the way, an attack of opportunity you have against them. ” – Jay_

_“Oh perfect. <*rolls*> OH YEAH BABY. 19! <*rolls damage*> 7 hitpoints!” – YJ_

_“Awesome, I’ll come back to you in a moment. Kuri, it is your turn. What do you wish to do?” – Jay_

“Ah, right. I’m going to move to Terry and cast… _Cure Wounds_ on him.” – BG

“ _Oh? Alright, I want you to roll for Medicine to stabilise him first.” – Jay_

_“Okay. <*rolls, whooping and cheering*> NATURAL 20!” – BG  
“You guys are on a roll with the dice gods now. He’s definitely stabilised, now roll to see how much HP he regains. Should say in your spells how much to roll.” – Jay_

_“OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH” – TH_

_“_ Say thank you hyung and do some aegyo for me and I’ll roll to heal you.” – BG

“REALLY?” – HK

“…fine. Thank you Beomgyu-hyungie~ <*does a flurry of aegyo for the camera*>”

[Beomgyu claps his hands together with an evil giggle and pats Taehyun on the back, and then rolls the dice.]

“Alright, that is…<*counting*> …12 hitpoints.” – BG

“ _I am now back at full health! HUZZAH!” – TH_

_“_ Don’t get cocky too quickly, the dice gods will use that against you if you’re not careful enough!” – Jake

“ _Alright then. Dan, you just pierce right through that bandit’s armour and have finished them off. Do you do anything else?” – Jay_

_“I move away, probably to move closer towards where Terry and Kuri are. That’s all I want to do. Is Disengage the mechanic I’d want to use?” – YJ_

_“Let me check… <*_grabs the player’s handbook, flicking through pages, before nodding as he read from the page needed*> _That would be it, yes.” – Jay_

_“Then I use Disengage.” – YJ  
“Alright then. Just going to check…<_*rolls, letting out a disappointed sigh*> _well, the Mastiff was supposed to attack Kuri, but it missed.” – Jay_

_“I pull Kuri out of the way.” – TH_

_“Yeah, that works! So Terry just yoinks you away from the Mastiff who’s leapt in your direction and just tumbles into the ground face first. Bin, your turn.” – Jay_

[Soobin rolls the dice, grimacing and cursing under his breath.]

“Well I was going to attack the captain with my shortswords, but I rolled badly. 8 and 11. Which means both missed.” – SB  
“ _Yeah, unfortunately those miss. You just narrowly manage to catch yourself before getting in the way of Legolas, who’s looking absolutely inhuman to you. You’ve never seen him like this before.” – Jay_

_“Yikes.” – SB_

_“Terry! What’s your plan of action? It’s your turn.” – Jake_

[Taehyun claps his hands together, and goes to roll dice, letting out a cheer and punching the air.]

“ _Right. I’m gonna cast Fire Bolt at the bastard who shot at Dan and I got a 23 for that roll.” – TH_

_“Niiiice. Roll me some damage.” – Jay_

_“Please be good…_ <*rolls*> _It’s not great, but it’s damage. 3 hitpoints.” – TH_

_“The others watch as Terry conjures up a bolt of fire in his hand and watch it strike the bandit that shot at Dan earlier. <*rolls, letting out a soft chuckle*> and the bandit now has their armour alight with fire and has disadvantage on his next turn due to his armour being on fire.” – Jay_

[The table celebrates, and Kai goes to roll for an attack.]

“ _Going to attack the bandit captain again, I got a 17.” – HK_

_“Hits!” – Jay_

_“Yah!_ <*rolls, cheers*> _8 hitpoints. I just stab into him with my glaive and scream angrily in his face.” – HK_

_“You let out this angry scream right into his face, yet he looks somewhat unphased, like he’s dealt with you before and it’s just not working on him yet. Terry, that bandit you just attacked with the firebolt spell is going to try and take a shot at you with disadvantage._ <*rolls, throwing his hands up in the air*> _Good lord, the dice gods are fighting the both of us. That was a natural 18 and a natural 19.” – Jay_

_“_ The hell? They hit either way. _” – TH_

_“He only manages to get_ <*rolls*> _to take you down by 2 hitpoints, though.” – Jay_

_“_ That’s not too bad though, now. I’m fine with that.” – TH

[Jake scribbles some notes down, grabbing another copy of the Monster Manual to flick through it, as if he’s planning ahead for a future encounter. Jay looks at the board and then goes to roll some dice, one to hit and one for damage.]

_“Right. The captain is going to attack you again, Legolas, and he knows that you’re not budging and he knows he’s going to lose if he takes his attention off you, so he’s going to land an attack with a 13, which I know beats your armour class, and he’s dealt 4 hitpoints of damage, but because you’re still raging, you only take 2 hitpoints due to the resistance to slashing damage.” – Jay_

“Ouch. _That’s going to be annoying…” – HK_

_“_ Is it my turn?” – BG

“ _Sure is.” – Jay_

_“_ I’m going to cast Thorn Whip on the flamin’ bandit dude and hope that it hits. <*rolls*> Oh hell yeah. 19?” – BG  
“ _Hits! You manage to pull him closer by about 10 feet. What’s the damage?” – Jay_

_“_ Oh, right. <*rolls*> _Oh that’s nice. 5 hitpoints.” – BG_

_“Good stuff. Dan, your turn now.” – Jay_

[Yeonjun looks at Beomgyu, then back to the board, thinking of his tactic.]

“What’s your health looking like?” – YJ

“Ah….kind of just hanging on still at one hitpoint. Why?” – BG

“ _I’m going to move to Kuri and despite being injured myself, I clutch my holy symbol in my off-hand, and once I catch up to where Kuri is, I’m going to cast Lay on Hands on him.” – YJ_

_“What does that do?” – SB_

_“Oooh, first heal by the paladin! Lay on Hands allows paladins like Dan to touch an ally and they regain hitpoints equal to his level times five. So since we’re all level one, you regain five hitpoints.” – Jake_

_“Oooh! That’s good to know. Thanks Yeonjun!” – BG_

_“It’s kinda my job, being the healer.” – YJ_

_“You missed the whole thing of Kuri healing Terry, didn’t you?” – TH_

_“_ Ask the DMs, Druids are utility and Paladins are the healers!” – YJ

“Uh…guys…” – Jake

“Isn’t that a Cleric thing? Being the main healer? Right now you’re not much of a healer, and currently Kuri’s healing more than you.” – TH

“ _Can we focus, guys? So yes, Kuri regains 5 hitpoints. The mastiff’s going to make a move to run away, and in doing so, Terry has an attack of opportunity. Do you take it?” – Jay_

_“Oh for sure. <*rolls*> I’m going to cast Fire Bolt it, and I rolled a 13.” – TH_

_“Hits.” – Jay_

_“Okay… <*rolls again, chuckling*> 9 hitpoints.” – TH_

_“You just basically turned the dog into ash.” – Jay_

[There’s gasps of shock and nervous laughing coming from the band.]

“ _HOW COULD YOU?!” – HK  
“It was trying to attack us! Self-defense!” – TH_

_“It was running away!” – HK_

_“Wouldn’t the mastiff be listening to the bandits anyway?” – SB_

_“…you have a point.” – HK_

_“_ I thought like. You two could talk it into being ours?” – YJ

“Hyung, no, that’s not how that works.” – BG

“Can we take this to break talk or something? Let’s get on with the game please…” – TH

[Jay just laughs while placing his head in his hands, while Jake continues to write notes down and just sighs under his breath.]

“ _Are you… <*giggles*> are you guys done fighting over a clearly aggressive dog running away?” – Jay_

_“Yes.” – TH  
“Alright, because <*lets out another giggle*> it’s Bin’s turn.” – Jay_

_“Aha!_ Okay. <*rolls some dice to attack, and then some damage dice*> I got a 19, which I know hits…” – SB

“ _Indeed, it does hit. What are you using?” – Jay  
“_Still the shortswords. I got a 4 on the other roll, so that misses, and I deal 4 hitpoints worth of damage.” – SB

“ _Alright – this is the captain still, right?” – Jay_

_“Yep.” – SB_

_“My turn! Gonna try to shoot at the one who shot at me earlier with Fire Bolt. <*rolls, making a noise of despair*> THAT WAS A BAD ROLL! 5!” – TH_

_“Yeah, that backfires. The others just see you release a little too early with the spell and it just explodes in your hand and you take however much damage you roll.” – Jay_

_“Ouch. <*rolls*> Well…thank goodness I got that heal. Wait, no. Oh god. I’m barely conscious. 1 hp left.” – TH  
“Ouch.” – SB_

_“Yikes!” – HK_

_“Didn’t your parents teach you spell safety?” – YJ  
“…well….you’ll find out at some point.” – TH  
“Was that a hint of backstory???” – HK  
“Maybe.” – TH_

_“Hey, DM. Can I drop my Rage?” – HK_

_“Let me just double check. I think it’s a bonus action.” – Jake  
  
_

[Jay passes the Player’s Handbook to Jake, who flips to the Barbarian page and nods his head.]

“ _Yep, that’s a bonus action to drop your rage.” – Jake  
“Alright, I’m gonna drop my Rage, my eyes turn purple as I will use Vicious Mockery on the bandit captain.” – HK_

_“_ Ooooooh!” – YJ

“This is going to be very interesting…” – TH

“Isn’t that a Charisma saving throw?” – Jake

“ _No, it’s a Wisdom saving throw that the captain’s got to make. Let’s cross check that?” – Jay_

[As Jay rolls the dice for the saving throw, Jake flips to the spell page where Vicious Mockery can be found in the Player’s Handbook, and Jay just claps while bursting into laughter again.]

“ _It is indeed a Wisdom saving throw for Vicious Mockery.” – Jake_

_“Well, he absolutely failed! A NATURAL 1. So…if….if you can make your damage roll, that would be amazing!” – Jay_

_“Oh my god I wasn’t expecting that to work.” – YJ_

_“I did. <*rolls, clapping his hands together*> That’s 4 hitpoints of damage, and I’m just going to say to the bandit captain in Abyssal <*clears throat, putting on a distorted voice*> **‘I WLLL BE YOUR DYING THOUGHTS!’” –** HK_

[A collective gasp comes from the band as Soobin jumps out of his chair and nearly falls out of it, caught by Yeonjun. The pair laugh afterwards, and Jay nods his head in approval.]

“ _That has to go into next week’s recap, for sure.” – Jake_

_“OH MY GOD YOU SCARED ME!” – SB_

_“Where did that come from?” – BG_

_“Says the man who can distort his own voice for our songs.” – HK_

_“Fair enough. You got me there.” – BG_

_“_ Don’t give him ideas!” – SB

“ _Well, the bandit captain absolutely is terrified of you. He doesn’t understand Abyssal, but it has absolutely made him soil himself. As you do that…one of the bandits adjacent to him is going to stab you in the side, Legolas. <*rolls, wincing*> Oof. That’s a 14 to hit, and that is 6hp of damage.” – Jay_

_“Oh f- that’s knocked me out! Aaaaah!” – HK_

“OH YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME?” – YJ

“The way the dice gods are against us once again…” – TH

“ _Right. The captain’s going to make a swing at you, still terrified and disoriented from Legolas’s Vicious Mockery, and <*rolls*> he rolled a 19 and a 13, and thank god he has disadvantage because I don’t think you would’ve liked the damage he could’ve caused if he did hit. Kuri, you’re up.” – Jay_

_“I’m going to fight the captain myself._ I’m using my quarterstaff two handed! <*rolls, wincing> And that’s a 6.” – BG

“ _Oooh, doesn’t hit. <*thinks for a few moments*> Roll me a Dexterity Saving throw.” – Jay_

[Beomgyu prays with dice in hand and rolls, looking up at Jay.]

“Do I add anything?” – BG  
“Your Dexterity Saving throw modifier…so that would be a +2.” – Jake

“So that was originally a 13, but adding the +2 makes it a 15.” – BG

“Yeah, that’s a successful save. So you just make a safety roll after missing, landing on your shoulder and continuing to roll without any further injury. Also, I think we’re all running low on energy to speak in English, sorry to those watching at home!” – Jay

“We’re going to keep on trying, though!” – Jake

“Dan, your turn.” – Jay

“ _I grab a javelin from my pack and I’m going to YEET it at the bandit who knocked Legolas unconscious. <*rolls, grimacing*> Well that missed. That was a nat2.” – YJ_

_“YEET!” – HK, BG, TH, SB_

[The table erupts into laughter minus Jay, who shakes his head with mild disappointment and lets out a sigh.]

“I can’t believe you all have a collective braincell. _Bin, your turn. Do you have anything on your mind?”_ – Jay

“ _I…I’m going to cast Vicious Mockery on the bandit captain too.” – SB_

_“Ooh. Interesting. <*rolls*> Well…he rolled a 5. So he fails his save. Roll for damage.” – Jay_

_“Alriiiight! <*rolls, has a smug grin on his face as he clears his throat, also distorting it slightly*> “ **Your soul will never find peace, and I will make sure of it.”** I snarl at him in Elvish. Oh, and he takes 4 hit points of damage.” – SB_

_“_ He clutches his head, trying to shake away the echoing voice in his head from the spell. _Kai, roll a death saving throw for Legolas once Terry has his turn. Terry?” – Jay_

_“_ Jay…you…<*bursts into laughter*>” – Jake

“What??” – Jay

“Nothing! I’ll- <*bursts into laughter again*> I’ll tell you later!” – Jake

[the band and Jay look at Jake, who is doubled over with laughter for a few minutes, looking confused as to what he’s laughing about.]

“Well…while he gets himself together… _I’m going to aim my crossbow at the bandit who we’ve been trying to pick off and I’m going to shoot at him right between the eyes. <*rolls, cocking his eyebrow upwards with a smile*> 14 hits, I’m assuming? <*rolls again*>” – TH_

_“Yes, 14 hits.” – Jay_

_“I dealt about 6 hitpoints worth of damage.” – TH_

_“The arrow just <*imitates the sound of a crossbow bolt puncturing into flesh*> right into the middle of his face, right in the nose bridge. He’s dead the moment that pierced through the skin.” – Jay_

_“Niiiiiice.” – TH_

_[_ Kai rolls a d20, letting out a sigh of relief as it lands on a 15.]

“15 for the death saving throw.” – HK  
“That’s a success!” – Jay

“Thank goodness it is.” – HK

[Jay quickly takes some notes down, grabbing his water bottle as he chugs down a good couple of gulps, before putting it down and rolling some dice.]

“The bandit captain makes an attempt to try and attack Bin, but because of your Vicious Mockery on him, I rolled a 17 and a 10 which means he doesn’t land a single hit on you.” – Jay

“ _I move out of the way gracefully, like the wind is carrying me. Regally.” – SB_

_“_ Show off!” – YJ

“Says you!” – SB

“Not the bickering…” – TH

“ _I’m going to attack the bandit captain again. <*rolls, letting out a happy noise*> 16 hits, yeah?” – BG_

_“Hits. You don’t need to roll damage dice. How do you want to do this?” – Jay_

[The table erupts into cheering and chanting as Beomgyu thinks about the next course of action.]

“ _I switch out my quarterstaff with my scimitar, twirl the scimitar, and with my other hand I’m going to grab his face and stab him in the side and twist the blade around until he dies.” – BG_

_“That’s a gruesome death, but that’s a well-deserved kill! Wow. You guys, I’m surprised you all survived that!” – Jake_

_“GO BEOMGYU! GO BEOMGYU!” – YJ, HK_

_“That was great. Was nerve-wracking but definitely good. Alright. So, as you finish off the bandit captain Kuri, you watch the life behind his eyes seemingly just…disappear. It momentarily makes you feel a rush of adrenaline, a feeling that you hadn’t had since you were the age of 9. The townspeople and the merchants, who had stayed back and hid in their shelters and homes, slowly come out to see the strewn dead bodies of the small bandit party and begin to cheer. Bin, you recognise the merchant you’d been dealing with just moments before the bandits arrived run in your direction, with a few other individuals in tow with them.” - Jay_

[Jay nods to Jake, who takes away the battle tiles and miniatures away from the main table, before settling down next to Jay, clearing his voice.]

“ ** _’Renegar, Dressar, they’re going to need your assistance. Please don’t anger the elven man…’_** _You see the merchant from before stand by as he converses to two individuals who slowly approach the five of you. And with that… we’re going to finish tonight’s session here.” – Jake_

“Woooow! That was one hell of a session!” – TH

“FIRST SESSION!” – HK

“I wanna keep playiiiiiiing~” – YJ

“Sameeeeeeee!” – SB

“This is so much fun!” – BG

“We’re really glad that’s the case! _And thanks to everyone who’s joined us for the first episode of **…” –** Jake_

_“ **Can’t We Just Leave the Dungeons and Dragons Alone?” –** TXT_

[Jay and Jake look at the camera crew in shock, then back at the cameras.]

“ _Are….Are you guys for real?” – Jake_

_“Wait, what happened?” – YJ_

_“We just hit 5 million live viewers still watching us at the moment?” – Jay_

_“NO WAY!” – HK_

_“That’s crazy!” – TH_

[The camera crew begin to clap, and so do the band members and the two Dungeon Masters, cheering and whooping.]

“ _Next week, same day…?” – Jay_

_“Yeah, every Saturday, unless there’s scheduling conflicts for us, we will be playing again!” – Jake_

_“That’s right! So come join us next week for episode 2 of Can’t We Just Leave the Dungeons and Dragons Alone, where we will see what the residents of El’dwyer greet the fresh new heroes! And until then, have a good rest of your weekend, stay safe, wear a mask, and may the dice gods be ever in your favour. Goodnight!”_

[Out of Character]

As pack up began, the members of Tomorrow by Together got up and gave big hugs to Jake and Jay, who were unprepared for the flurry of affection from their seniors. “That was so much fun, you guys really are so good at what you do!” Yeonjun exclaims, the excitement evident in his slightly hoarse voice. Jay could hear the hoarseness in not only Yeonjun’s voice, but everyone else’s as they had been playing for a good while. “I cannot wait for next week! Aaaaaaah. It’s going to be such an itch in my side!” Taehyun exclaims, raising a massive smile on Jay’s face as the flurry of compliments came alongside the hugs.

After the hugs and compliments had been exchanged, Jay could feel Jake’s hand patting his back. “That was one hell of a session we gave them. I’m excited for more.” Jake says, and Jay chuckles. “That it was. I am also excited for more, and I really hope the fans enjoyed it as much as we did. I know there’s been a surge of fans since we started the hype building promotions, so I really hope they like it.” Jay says, rubbing his neck as he stretches. “Man, I’m so tired after that. It’s been so long since I’ve ran a proper game. Probably will pass out the moment we get back to the dorms.” Jake comments, and Jay chuckles. “Same. Wait, hey, what was making you burst into a fit of laughter earlier?” He asks, and Jake looks at him confused, before he recollects and he giggles.

“You sounded like Scott Morrison, when he was still Australia’s Prime Minister, during a press conference for COVID-19 about lockdown. He was telling a reporter to stop stealing the show with his questions, and when you were telling HueningKai to wait until after Taehyun’s turn, it just…” Jake says, trailing off as he goes into another fit of giggles. Jay remembers Jake having shown him in the past about the clip from the press conference, and he’d seen the Tiktoks parodying it, and it clicked in his mind and he too, burst into laughter.

“I can see why you didn’t tell me until now!” He laughs. “You wouldn’t have been able to continue! I had to spare them and the fans from the laughing fits. Besides, it’s funnier this way.” Jake comments, and Jay nods. “Well…guess after we go to bed, it’s back to songwriting and practicing.” He says, before Jake lightly bumps his shoulder. “Don’t forget, we have a campaign to write as well.”

“I guess we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took over a week to write! I've been busy with work and with coursework which took precedence over the fic for a little while, I apologise @_@ but here we are! We got character interactions, our first ever encounter, and some little hooks for backstory! I'm excited to see where this will go, especially given I had to write the encounter notes up in advance prior to actually being up to date with the encounter part of the fic! 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, whether that's through my CuriousCat [https://curiouscat.me/VYPERSENSOR] or through my Twitter (@VYPERSENSOR) or on here! Also, if you would like to make fanart of the TXT D&D AU, please tag me on Twitter! I would LOVE to see what everyone's take is on the appearance of the D&D characters :D
> 
> Hope you all have a lovely week! 
> 
> *runs off to write and roll the next chapter*


	4. Chapter 3: Dice Goblins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's there to do between the first session and the second session?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get out a filler chapter before diving right back into the next episode of the liveplay show! Enjoy!

A week passes by, with excitement from the Tomorrow by Together members continuing to grow over the course of the week. Between the schedules and going into work to write songs, practice choreographies, and other tasks, there’s still a thrill, the buzz of looking forward to their game on Saturday. It’s strange, Yeonjun thinks, at just how much more confident he’s gotten since that first session. He’s not sure if it’s the actual roleplaying part of the game, or if it’s the dice rolling, or if it’s the voice acting he gets to relish in doing, but it feels just right for him, feeling just ever so much more confident to switch between his Korean and his English.

When he logs into Weverse for the past couple of days, he’s seen just how much fans enjoy the show, and he smiles as he sees the fanart and memes – making an effort to comment and show the others – that they have produced from just the first session alone. In addition to To-Do, he sees fans swimming in content they’ve produced where it shows the real them, and perhaps that’s for the better. When doing research for the upcoming session on how to make his roleplaying have more oomph, he finds himself listening along to liveplay games much like their own, Critical Role being one of his rising favourites. After going through about fifteen episodes over the course of the week in the podcast form, he can see why the maknae really looked up to Critical Role with regards to the roleplay flavour, and there’s something that makes Yeonjun think he should take some inspiration from Critical Role, amongst other liveplay games during the course of the week.

And of course, there’s a slight side-effect of the game that Yeonjun didn’t realise he’d been bitten so quickly by, and it’s affected the other members, except their leader – dice collecting. He doesn’t remember how it started exactly, but he does recollect it was after he ordered a set and somehow ended up buying more sets than he needed. It was slightly embarrassing at first, but over the course of the week he had seen multiple packages addressed to Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai, met with screeches as the boys opened the packages to reveal they too had been bitten by the dice goblin bug.

“Oh, it got you guys bad, didn’t it?” Yeonjun says as he watches Taehyun open up bags containing sets of dice, rubbing them between his hands and looking at them individually. “What the- hey, did you guys get anything for me?” Soobin says, entering into the room full of commotion as the maknae line spread out across the artist lounge opening the packages. Yeonjun scans the table for any packages for Soobin, as he was the one that got the packages given to him to give to the younger members. After a little bit of searching he’d found the one with Soobin’s name on it, feeling the package as it was rather bulky yet soft to the touch, before handing it to Soobin.

“Oh my god, thanks hyung. This…I’m surprised it got here! Hopefully it’s all in one piece…” Soobin sighs in relief, sitting down on the lounge – Beomgyu and Taehyun shifting across on the couch to accommodate for their leader – as he carefully and meticulously opens the package. “What did you get, hyung?” Taehyun asks, taking his eyes away from his dice to look at what Soobin was doing. “I have to be careful with this. These are made from materials which could be easily damaged…” Soobin replies, carefully taking away the packaging as he sets down on the table a beautiful wooden box, gently opening the lid as a set of bright green semi-precious gemstone dice gleams in the lights around them.

The others rush over to look at the dice, with Soobin holding them back. “These are expensive! And! They’re not yours to touch! You can **look.** ” Soobin commands, with the others just making gasps of awe as he grabs out the d20 to inspect it closely. “How much did you spend on this?” Beomgyu asks, watching as Soobin seems to zone out, looking at the d20 in the light. “Earth to Soobin-hyung!” Kai raises his voice just enough to bring Soobin back to his senses. “Oh. Uh. A couple thousand won…” Soobin says, hesitating, his ears going red with embarrassment. “Yah, we don’t need an Insight check to know you lied right through your teeth! You just said it was expensive. **How expensive?”** Yeonjun urges, and Soobin flinches before letting out a sigh.

“About 307,000 won…”

The others look at him in shock. “But! This is made of malachite! So it’s expensive for a good reason!” Soobin explains, and Yeonjun begins to laugh while Taehyun puts his face in his hand. “You sure do have an expensive taste in dice, Soobinnie. Are you sure you’re not becoming a dice goblin like us?” Yeonjun prods, and Soobin shakes his head. “I’m not getting that many sets, not like the 15 you have already, Yeonjun!” Soobin replies, and Yeonjun flushes as the others burst into laughter. “And there they go at it, bickering again…” Taehyun giggles. 


	5. Chapter 4: Early Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are not as they seem with some of the party members...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're in our second session now! This will be split up to ensure more updates and to be easier to read!
> 
> Backstory! Angst! Potential foreshadowing!

As they step back into the dedicated studio for the Dungeons and Dragons game, there’s a thick tension between the players, though not through arguments or bickering, no. They were nervous of what the next session had laid out for them, for what Jay and Jake had planned. They were just as easily excited and eager to play, but there still gnawed at the five players internally that there’s more to what was planned today. Greeting Jake and Jay, they got underway with some small talk, checking in, and some jokes shared before the directors had announced that they were going live shortly, met with the sounds of their own music videos playing as they saw the stream on a separate screen whilst sitting down at the table.

“Man, what do you have in store for us tonight, Jay and Jake?” Taehyun says, earning a eyebrow raise from Jake as the Dungeon Master chuckled. “Lots of things. We planned a lot over the week, including backstory stuff should you guys begin to fall down those particular paths.” Jake says, earning a few glances between the players as they could hear the intro to the show play.

“Game time. Let’s get this show on the road!” Kai calls out, earning cheers from the others as the intro song begins to play, a chorus quickly forming from the players and Dungeon Masters.

—

[In Game]

[As the intro fades out to the stream, Soobin, Yeonjun and Taehyun sustain the high note at the end of the intro song, earning a surprised look from Jay and Jake before they finish.]

“ _Well, that’s certainly a grand entrance into tonight’s session!”_ – Jake

“ _Good evening everyone! Thank you, Soobin, Yeonjun and Taehyun, for your wonderful high notes. The fans are probably going wild right now. Tonight, a bunch of us idols are sitting down to play another session of Dungeons and Dragons. I’m Jay, one of the Dungeon Masters, and this is Jake.” –_ Jay

_“Hello! I’m Jake! Jay and I are from Enhypen, and our players here are… <*gestures to the group*>” – _Jake

“ _One Dream!_ Hello, we are _Tomorrow by Together!_ ” – TXT

“ _And we would like to say to everyone, welcome to the show of ‘Can’t We Just Leave the Dungeons and Dragons Alone?’! If you’ve just tuned in, last week’s session our five adventurers, coming from different paths, different lifestyles, slowly began to intersect in the town of El’dwyer and amongst meeting, began to bicker until they were alerted to a bandit raid affecting the town. They since have defeated the bandits, and where we left off was that two individuals, Dressar and Renegar, are now helping Legolas and the others to patch up their wounds.”_ – Jay

“ _OH GOD I FORGOT ABOUT BEING IN THE NEGATIVES WITH MY HITPOINTS AAAAAAAAAAA”_ – HK

“Oh god, I completely forgot about us being all kinds of injured.” – TH

“ _But, before we go ahead with the session, let’s introduce the players! Yourself and your character.” – Jake_

[Yeonjun waves, a cute smile plastered on his face, full of excitement.]

“ _Hiiii~ I’m Yeonjun, the eldest of the team and proud dice hoarder! I play Dan, a Half-Orc/Dragonborn Paladin~” – YJ_

[Soobin winks at the camera before smirking.]

“ _Hello~ I’m Soobin, the charismatic leader of the team, and I play Bin, a High Elf Ranger.”_ – SB

[Beomgyu runs a hand through his hair, slicking it back, before winking at the camera and blowing a kiss.]

“ _I’m Beomgyu, the most beautiful member here, and I play Kuri, a Shifter Druid. Let’s have fun tonight!”_ – BG

[Taehyun glares at Beomgyu before waving to the camera.]

_“Holder of the braincells in the group, it’s me, Taehyun! Hello everyone! I play-“ - TH_

_“I LOVE BEARS!”_ \- BG

_“FUCKER I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT!”_ – TH

[The table bursts into laughter as Taehyun grabs ahold of one of Beomgyu’s hands and squeezes it hard, earning a yelp of pain from him before letting go.]

“ _Sorry about him. Anyway, as I was about to say, I’m Taehyun, and I play Terry, a Air and Earth Gensai who is a Sorcerer! <*glares at Beomgyu again*>” – _TH

[Kai stares into the camera, before exploding into a flurry of hand and finger hearts.]

“ _HELLO MOA!!!!! HELLO EVERYONE!!!!! I’m the youngest of the team, while also having the most angelic charms, HueningKai! I play Legolas, an Aasimar Bard! Wow, we’ve really improved a lot in our English already!”_ – HK

“ _Yeah! I didn’t realise during introductions that we ended up doing that all in English! It’s a miracle. How did you do it, Jake? Jay???”_ – TH

“ _Through the magic that is Dungeons and Dragons!”_ – Jake

“ _Shall we kick off today’s session?”_ – Jay

[A unanimous cheer is heard as the table whoop and drum the table, making Jay and Jake laugh. Jay takes a long drink from his water bottle before clearing his throat afterwards, and with a glance at Jake to seemingly telepathically exchange thoughts, he turns his head to the camera and the players.]

“ _So! As there’s the townsfolk cheering for the end of the bandit raid, you see these three individuals, one of which you remember having talked to Bin earlier, and two you hadn’t seen before. Currently, Legolas is unconscious on the ground, blood pouring out from his left side, tainted with bits of black in the blood. You see a bulky, kind of gnarled silver dragonborn approaching Legolas, kneeling down and just placing a hand on the gaping wound. You see this radiant silver energy coming out of the dragonborn’s hand as Legolas begins to stir and groan in pain. ‘ **Seems like this one was close to death. What even happened here?’** ” – _Jay

“ ** _Seems like we just stopped a bandit raid, if that wasn’t obvious to you._** _”_ – YJ

“ _You notice the other individual is tall with a lithe frame, pointed ears that indicate some form of elven ancestry, with speckled bits of facial hair on their face. They look at you, Dan, with a raised eyebrow and kind of goes -_ ’ ** _And who are you, exactly?”_** _–_ Jake

“ _I look at the individual with elvish-like features and clear my throat. ‘ **I’m not sure about the others here, but my friend Legolas here was with me shopping in the market stalls – this merchant here helped in their part to take down the bandits. Were it not for you, my friend, I wouldn’t have had as much arrows to fight these bandits.** ’ And I gesture to the individual who sold me the arrows previously.” _– SB

“Woah, that was super smooth? Soobin-hyung, what the hell?” – TH

“… _Make a persuasion check for me.”_ – Jake

[Both Jake and Soobin roll a d20, with Jake tilting his head and frowning just slightly.]

“ _That’s an 11?” –_ SB

“Wow. _You actually beat their insight check. The individual seems to look at you and doesn’t seem to want to actually question who you are.”_ – Jake

“ ** _’Well, your friend Legolas here was moments from death. And I saw the fight…the five of you seem to know how to defend yourselves. You’ve done this town a small favour, but this is not the last of them. Every week we get raided by this particular mob, sometimes they bring back up. So if they find out that there’s no sight of Nacho’s men or himself, we may be in more trouble.’_** _The silver dragonborn looks up at you, Bin, and then at Dan, then towards Terry and Kuri. **‘So I know what you were here for exactly, but what about the three of you? Why were you lurking around these parts? You’re…not exactly blending in with the locals here, that much is evident.’** And as the silver dragonborn finishes his sentence, you see them just lightly slap the side of Legolas’s face and sits him up. You watch as they grab from the bag slung around their neck and over their body some bandage wraps and begin to wrap up the injuries that Legolas has.” – _Jay

“ _I’m back at 0hp? Or 1hp?” –_ HK

“ _For the purposes of this, you are at 1 hitpoint.” –_ Jake

“ _Can I rummage through the bandits’ bodies?” – TH_

_“Roll for investigation.”_ – Jake

[Taehyun rolls the dice, while Jake also rolls some additional dice. Jake takes a little longer to respond.]

“ ** _’I was told that this town had potential answers for a strange marking that I had appear on my left arm. Something about the local priests knowing what it could pertain to.’_** _And I show my left arm, pulling back the sleeve to reveal the strange X marking on my left forearm.”_ – YJ

“ _I also look at my left arm, remembering that was also why I came to the town.”_ – BG

“Let’s see… _So Terry, what did you roll?” –_ Jake

“I got a 14. _Wait. 14 plus 1, that’s 15.” –_ TH

“ _Alright then. You go through one bandit and gather 6 pieces of Rhodochrosite. To you, the armour and weapons are useless.” –_ Jake

“I want to look through all of their bodies!” – TH

“ _Then keep rolling Investigation! 4 extra rolls.” – Jake_

_“Okay! <*rolls*> So the first extra roll is 15, the second is an 18, the third is a 15 as well, and the fourth is a…It’s a natural 20. That nat 20’s on the bandit captain!” – TH_

_“He’s not even an official rogue!” – YJ_

_“Oh good lord. Uh. Give me a few moments. I’ll let Jay do his thing while I go and check what you get.” – Jake_

[Jake writes some notes down while rolling the dice, also taking the opportunity to grab a drink of water.]

_“Thanks, Jake. The silver dragonborn kind of glances at Terry going through the bandit corpses, but then focuses in on Kuri and Dan showing the markings. **‘That…can’t possibly be…The Entity of Fate has chosen you. That’s the work of Fate.’** The other two individuals look at the group of you in shock.” – Jay_

_“’ **The…Entity of Fate?** ’ Would Kuri even know about the Entity of Fate?” – _BG

“ _He’s probably heard about it from his clan, all those years ago, but the information would be buried in your memories. Make a Religion check.”_ – Jay

“Okay. <*rolls, checking his character sheet*> Does an 11 work?” – BG

“ _Kuri knows just the basic lore around the Entity of Fate – much like Solaris or Lunaris, this entity is a divine being that is higher than the other gods, on the same tier as Solaris and Lunaris. That’s as much as you recollect.” –_ Jay

“ _I would also like to see if Dan would know about the Entity of Fate, and if this is a marking he’d recognise?”_ – YJ

“ _Go ahead and roll me a religion check.”_ – Jay

“Oh god, not another Wisdom check. Wait, no that’s Intelligence. Wait. WHY DOES SO MANY THINGS RELY ON WISDOM AND INTELLIGENCE!? <*rolls, letting out a sigh of relief*> _Okay okay. That’s actually a decent roll. 17.”_ – YJ

“ _Alright. The Entity of Fate, or Fate as most know him, is essentially a higher divinity on the same level as Solaris and Lunaris, and that those who bear a Mark of Fate with others sharing the same Mark of Fate are very rare and those that do are either forgotten about in history or become legends. And, this is now to all five of you, you feel a burning sensation in your off-hand arm as you see new diamonds appear in the once empty spaces between the X. For Dan, he now has 4 blue diamonds, for everyone else, they gain three to four new diamonds, one of which is a solid yellow colour. The silver dragonborn widens their eyes more, and even the individual with elven features takes a step back. **‘Do you know why Fate has marked you?’”** – Jay_

_“’ **Are you saying that the Entity of Fate has marked a random number of individuals to come together? Is this a joke?’** I kind of tug down my sleeve, narrowing my eyes and make eye contact with the merchant, my eyes flashing colour briefly once again before going back to normal.” _– SB

“ _…make an Intimidation check.”_ – Jay

“ _While you do that, Terry, I can now tell you what you manage to gather in terms of loot from the other bandit bodies. From the second bandit, you get 13 silver pieces and 5 pieces of turquoise. From the third bandit, you get 10 pieces of azurite, 3 platinum pieces, 3 spell scrolls at first level, and two potions of healing. You could gather from that particular bandit that either they’d robbed a spellcaster or they were learning to cast spells, you couldn’t really tell. The fourth bandit, you score 12 copper pieces and 4 masks made out of black velvet with silver thread. As you scavenge through the bandit captain, you acquire two holy symbols pertaining to the demon prince Hircine, who you know because you’ve dealt with their followers before, gloves with a magical element to them, a perapit of magical nature, and 240 silver, with 110 gold. Do you plan to share these with the party?” –_ Jake

[Soobin rolls the dice for his Intimidation check and has a smug grin on his face. Yeonjun leans over and clasps a hand over his mouth in shock. Meanwhile, Taehyun’s eyes widen as he quickly jots down in his character sheet the items he’s acquired.]

“Did you just give them magic items??? At first level?” – Jay

“Hey, I used the tables and the dice gods were on their side!” – Jake

“Alright, fair enough. It’s gonna come in handy later.” – Jay

“ _I do plan to discuss what I found with the party and identify these. I rejoin the group and notice everyone else has the same mark.” – TH_

_“I got a dirty 20. 19 plus my +1 to Charisma.” – SB_

_“The individual with elvish features looks at you fearfully, while the merchant you were conversing with before just gulping. The silver dragonborn seems to be unfazed by your attempts to intimidate them. **‘I am not joking around. Fate very rarely marks groups of individuals with the same mark. With someone like you looking very well put together, I would think you would know that, no?’** And I want you to make a Charisma saving throw.” – _Jay

“Ah, man. Really? Okay. <*rolls, chuckling*> _Natural 20.” – SB_

_“Are you for real- what is going on?!” –_ Jake

“ _I- well. You can see that they were making an attempt to put you in your place using intimidation, but you see right through the attempt to intimidate.” –_ Jay

“ _Soobin being a badass diplomat, we stan!_ ” – HK

“ _Can I check to see if they’re trying to deceive me?” –_ SB

“ _That would be an Insight check. With advantage, because what the hell. Surely the dice gods aren’t going to be this good for you…” –_ Jay

[Soobin rolls two d20s. He has another smug grin on his face, looking at his character sheet before looking back at Jay.]

“ _16 and 19. Which makes it for the 19 to go to a 23 due to being proficient in Insight.” – SB_

_“You can tell they’re being genuine with their response, though. The dragonborn doesn’t seem to have any indication that would show if they were lying, and the tone of voice you can easily pick up as them telling the truth.” –_ Jay

“’ ** _I don’t mean to interrupt this all important talk…but…I found these symbols on the bandit captain’s body. You said that he was a regular sight around this town when it came to bandit raids…’_** _and I show the dragonborn the symbols of Hircine.” –_ TH

“ _The dragonborn and the individual with elven features both widen their eyes, and you watch as the individual runs off, while the dragonborn curses under their breath. **‘We’ve been trying to figure out a connection between the lycanthropes that seem to linger on the outskirts of El’dwyer when the moon is full, and the bandit attacks. This…this is bigger than we’ve realised.’** And you see the dragonborn kind of rub the back of their neck before standing up, helping Legolas up onto his feet.” – _Jay

“’ ** _Wait. Lycanthropes?’_** _” –_ BG

“’ ** _Yes. Usually ones that take the form of big cats. We’ve seen a few tigers about, and knowing that they aren’t native to this area, it was kind of a given that we knew that they were lycanthropes. You seem to be curious about them, child.’”_** _–_ Jay

“ _I bite my tongue at the comment of being referred to as a child, and bring Toto from my shoulder and whisper to him. **‘Toto. Can you scout the town’s perimeter? I can’t help but feel that we’re going to need some form of idea of the landscape if lycanthropes are linked to these bandits.’** And I kind of throw Toto into the air to let him begin flight.” _– BG

“Woah woah, this is going all over the place already…” – YJ

“ _Toto immediately understands and doesn’t respond, already taking flight to scan the area. The silver dragonborn looks at you curiously.” –_ Jay

“ ** _’I…my bloodline traces back to the first lycanthropes who learnt to control their condition. Over time we became one with the condition. I think the common folk call us Shifters. I know of the different kinds of lycanthropes that prowl about, and I’ve fought a fair few of them myself. I’ve…sent my companion to the skies to keep an eye out, if what you say is right with the connection between these bandits and the lycanthropes.’_** _And I kind of already tense up._ Can I tell what kind of moon phase we’re in?” – BG

“ _I would say….make a Survival check. With advantage, since you’re very familiar with the lunar phases even at this time of day.” – Jake_

[Beomgyu looks at his character sheet and then rolls two d20s. He claps his hands.]

“ _Between a 6 and a natural 20?” –_ BG

“No fucking way! That’s insane!” – YJ

“This is ridiculous, oh my god.” – TH

“ _The moon tonight is very much a full moon. In addition to that, Kuri, you feel your body tense up and a sudden jolt of energy burst through you. You hear the echoes of a soft, infernal-esque laughter ring in your head.”_ – Jay

[Jay walks on over to Beomgyu to whisper in his ear.]

“ _’ **Hello my dear child. Seems like we cross paths once more! I have all but a special quest for you, something that you will enjoy. I will continue to watch over you, but also grant you a blessing. Your mission, is to eliminate in every way possible, all of those who carry symbols of me. I do not want people to think that they should worship me like a god. Be my Hunter, my Champion…and perhaps your companions will also be blessed by myself. The Hunt begins, dear child, and you are the chosen Hunter. If you let them defeat you, your soul will be damned forever, and you will not rejoin your family in the Eternity. Are we clear? Good. I do not have issues in how you eliminate them, as long as you do it by your morals and we will not have issues.’”**_ – Jay

[Jay walks back to the DM Screen, before walking back over to give Beomgyu a rectangular piece of card, who keeps it hidden from the other players. Beomgyu’s eyes widen.]

“ _The others watch as Kuri’s body tenses, freezes, and then a rapid change takes place, namely his features looking more bulkier than before, and more animalistic. He looks more ursine than you had seen him before, even in combat.” –_ Jake

“ ** _’What the hell is happening to you? You going wild on us?’_** _And I just kind of clutch at my shortswords.” – SB_

_“’ **We shouldn’t stay out here. Is…is there a place where we can stay and rest up before nightfall? I can tell you more.’** And I kind of try to avoid eye contact with Bin.” – BG_

_“The silver dragonborn looks back to the merchant, then back to the five of you. **‘No one else is going to really take you in, especially with those injuries. I have some rooms for this purpose. I’m Renegar, by the way. Owner and shopkeeper of the Healer’s Tap. My husband is the one that sold you those arrows, elf.’** And you notice them just bow their head in respect to you, Bin. They get up and begin to lead the way. Do you follow?” – Jay_

_“_ Should we? What do we think?” – SB

“Well some of us were already going to go over there, and for most of us, we’re pretty damn low on health. Wouldn’t hurt.” – TH

“And you managed to get some things, didn’t you? From those bodies?” – HK

“Yeah, I did. I’m going to need time to look over and identify some of those things.” – TH

“I kind of stay back. And keep an eye on who may be watching us when we do make a move.” – BG

“ _Alright, so you guys want to follow?” –_ Jake

“ _Yep.” – YJ_

_“Alright then. Kuri, you begin to notice the town guards pulling the bandit bodies away as they begin to now patrol the area. And as everyone is walking behind the silver dragonborn, you see this relatively large building that seems to be quite different from the rest of the shops in the business district, like the architecture is vastly different. Upon entering, there’s a nice and cozy warm feeling that crawls over your bodies, and you see Renegar gesture to the five of you to head up the stairs. Once you’ve moved upstairs, there’s a wide expanse of a room, with a few beds lined up – it’s something like an infirmary. To the side, you see a large table, with what appear to be snacks on the table and then behind the table, a small bar. What would you like to do?” –_ Jay

“ _I look back over to Renegar, the dragonborn, and just kind of ask them. **‘You say that there’s lycanthropes that stalk the outskirts of the town. Can…can you give us more information about that?’** And I pull up a chair from the table to sit down.” – SB_

_“I also grab a chair and I just plonk myself down. I hurt plenty.” – YJ_

_“I walk over to one of the beds and sit myself down on it, looking over where I’ve been bandaged, noticing that most of my wounds have begun to stop bleeding. I think about the name of the kingdom, Amakiir, and I sit there idly probably for the next hour, not talking.” – HK_

_“I look at Legolas with worry, then back at the things I’ve acquired from looting the bandits, notably the two holy symbols.” - TH_

_“At this point, you all take a short rest, which means everyone can now utilise their hit dice to regain hitpoints.” – Jake_

[The players make a move to use their hitdice. Yeonjun groans. Soobin chuckles. Beomgyu does a little happy dance. Taehyun hisses slightly.

“ _So, let’s see what we’ve got in terms of hit points?” – Jake_

_“I was on 1 hitpoint, but I rolled a 4 so now I’m up to 5.” – YJ_

_“2 plus 3 equals 5 hitpoints, so I max out.” – SB_

_“Also maxed out! 5 plus 2 equals 7, yeaaaaaaah~” – BG_

_“Way to rub it in my face, guys…” – YJ_

_“Not nearly enough…3 plus 3 equals 6, which means I now am at 7 out of 9 hitpoints. It’s not optimal, but it’s better than nothing!” – TH_

_“2 plus 1 equals three…so I’m at 4 out of 9. Yikes.” – HK_

_“Oof, feels bad man.” – YJ_

[Jay begins to roll some dice behind the screen, while Jake takes down some more notes. Both DMs take a good long drink out of their water bottles.]

“ _Alright then. So, Bin. Renegar looks at you, before looking at the rest of the party. ‘ **Before I answer your question, I feel as if I should give you some potions to kind of bring you all back up to speed. On the house.’** And you watch as Renegar heads down the stairs, out of sight.” – Jay_

_“I look at Kuri. **‘What was that, earlier? You looked like you were having a seizure. Or rather, you looked as if something had possessed you.’** ” – YJ_

_“’ **< *sighs*> To put it simply…yes. But it’s not a big deal.’**” – BG_

_“Can I see if he’s telling the truth?” – YJ_

_“Yes you can. Roll for Insight, and Beomgyu, roll either for Persuasion or Deception, at your discretion.” – Jake_

[Both Beomgyu and Yeonjun make their respective rolls. Yeonjun puts his head in his hands, while Beomgyu grimaces.]

“ _9_.” – BG

“ _Oh my fucking god. I got a natural 1. I absolutely fucking take his word.” – YJ_

_“Man…yeah. He seems very genuine.” – Jake_

_“Thank god. I was trying to persuade him.” – BG_

_“Renegar comes back up the stairs, carrying a large case with them as they put it carefully on the table. ‘ **Now, I wouldn’t be giving this many potions out, especially without at least getting some coin for it, but given that you have links to the Amakiir…this is for you.’** And they open the case, revealing several healing potions. 5 of which are Potions of Greater Healing, while another 10 are the stock standard common Potions of Healing.” – _Jay

“ _OH MAN, HOLY SHIT!” – BG_

_“I glare at Renegar. ‘ **Apart from your husband having possibly told you, what do you know about the kingdom?’** And I just tilt my head, leaning back in my seat.” – SB_

_“Renegar reclines in their seat, giving you a long stare. ‘ **Dragons set the place alight. Many of my own dragonborn clan died when the dragons took the throne, along with the…’** and they just trail off, looking as if they’ve just suddenly had a flashback.” – Jay_

_“At the mention of Amakiir I just end up staring into the bar, feeling a flood of memories wash over me.” – BG_

_“What is this, Flashback Friday?” – YJ_

_“Hilariously enough, it is a Friday in the game itself.” – Jake_

[Jake rolls some dice in the background.]

“Would I know of any dragonborn clans within the Amakiir kingdom?” – SB

“ _…Make an Intelligence check for me. Because this would be relying on your memory.” – Jay_

[Soobin rolls a d20.]

“19?”

“ _You definitely recollect that there were a few, but the most prominent clans that come to mind are the Myastan, Norixious, Mednaar, Worprax, Wulashi and the Nesxan. Five of them can trace their lineage to chromatic dragons, and one tracing their lineage to the Bronze dragons. Roll me another Intelligence check, actually.” –_ Jay

“ _HUH.” –_ YJ

“What?” – SB

“You’ll find out later on. Just do your roll.” – YJ

[Soobin rolls again for the Intelligence check. He whistles.]

“That’s another 19.” – SB

“ _Everyone, look at our wonderful Choi Soobin, getting all the good luck this session!” – HK_

_“Each of the 6 major Dragonborn clans not only represented a particular element, but they also represented the major trades crucial to the Amakiir. The Myastan were known for their control over the ice, and had a long dynasty, akin to nobility, and they were the royal family’s blacksmiths. The Norixious were known for their control over lightning and electricity, and thus were known to be inventors and artificers, creating technologies like the Waypoint and the various teleportation gates being two of their most well-known inventions. Mednaar were known for their control over acid, but used it to their advantage and became the kingdom’s biggest producer of alchemic potions and the like. Worprax controlled poison, but became the kingdom’s greatest source for healing salves and the like. The Nexsan were known for their fire and were also leaders in agriculture within the kingdom. You do not remember what the Wulashi were known for when it comes to the major trades crucial to the Amakiir, as they dipped their claws into mostly every sort of trade. Some of those clans, you were close to in particular. WOW. I’m gonna need a drink.” –_ Jay

[Jay finishes his drink bottle full of water and ends up leaving the table to go refill it, while Soobin frantically continues to scribe away into his notes what Jay had told him through the intelligence checks. Yeonjun has his eyes wide open, staring into the air seemingly held in a trance after hearing about the dragonborn clans.]

“Uh, Yeonjun-hyung? Are you alright?” – BG

“Oh. Yeah, yeah. Just. Thinking about character backstory and all. Processing it.” – YJ

“Fair enough.” – BG

“That was one hell of an info drop.” – TH

[Jay returns to the table.]

“ _’ **You say it like you were there.’** And I learn forward a little bit.” – SB_

_“’ **When you put it like that, yes. Yes I was. Watched the castle go up in flames as the king and queen were executed. I don’t know how many survived from the royal family. If anyone even did. <***sighs*> **and even if they did, how would they ever take the throne back from The Burning Devourer? The Endless Void? I don’t even know who rules the throne anymore.’** And you watch Renegar’s expression just fall, sighing.” – Jay_

_“I tense up. Right. <*rolls*> Well, alright here goes. That was a bad roll to convince me not to do this.” – _SB

“To do what?” – HK

“ ** _’The prince survived.’_** _” – SB_

_“Renegar seems suspicious of you the moment you say that. Make a Persuasion check.” – Jay_

[Soobin rolls the dice, as well as Jay. Soobin just starts giggling.]

_“This is stupid. Oh my god.” – SB_

_“What’d you roll?” – Jay_

_“The initial role was a 16. And then my +3 gives me 19.” – SB  
“What is this, Lucky 19?” – BG_

_“Apparently!” – TH_

_“Well that beats Renegar’s insight check…” – Jake_

_“Renegar looks at you, observing you but remains curious. ‘ **And how do you know that the prince survived?’** ” – Jay_

_“Well, I didn’t expect that. Oh well. Too late to back away now!” – SB_

_“Oh boy…” – BG_

_“Wait. Are you-“ – YJ. TH_

_“I’m going to roll for persuasion. <*rolls*> OH MY GOD. NOT AGAIN! 19 plus 3…22?” – SB  
“Uuuh. <*rolls*> What the fuck. Your 22 beats his natural 1. Good fuckin’ grief.” – Jay_

_“Soobin, our lucky 19.” – HK_

_“I’d drink to that.” – YJ_

_“Because I’m a sucker for cliffhangers…let’s go into break after I drop this, okay?” – SB_

_“Sounds good to me.” – TH_

_“I’m in.” – BG_

_“That sounds good to us.” – Jay & Jake_

[Soobin takes in a deep breath.]

“ _I scan the room, watching all of the others. I change my eye colour from amber to a tricolour pattern of gold, silver and bronze, and I clear my throat to get everyone’s attention.” – SB_

_“Everyone does seem to pay attention to you. Kuri, Legolas, you’re both brought from your flashbacks to look at Bin, like as if there’s an alluring aura that pulls you from your flashbacks.” – Jake_

_“’ **I know the prince is alive, because I am the Prince of the Amakiir.’** ”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))))))) Betcha you weren't expecting that!
> 
> Also, hitpoint tracker:
> 
> Daniel: 5/10 HP  
> Bin: 13/13 HP  
> Kuri: 10/10 HP  
> Terry: 7/9 HP  
> Legolas: 4/9 HP
> 
> And I'll see you guys soon for the next update!


	6. Chapter 5: Moonchild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of foreshadowing, backstory reveals, random dance party, and a cover performance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking such a while to get this update out! This is actually supposed to be much bigger, but I decided to give you an update earlier than anticipated! Enjoy!

“WHAT THE HELL, SOOBIN?” – BG

“You really were dropping THAT reveal on us, weren’t you!?” – HK

“I aim to please. Although I wasn’t expecting that to really take place this soon.” – SB

“That’s the way of the dice gods to ya. _Alright, we’re gonna go into a mini break!_ ” – Jake

[Jake and Jay’s eyes are drawn to where the camera crew are as some of the production crew end up running about, and the two DMs widen their eyes.]

“ _Well apparently some of the programs? And equipment? Responsible for taking all of you viewers to the music videos and all just kind of glitched out and won’t actually do the thing it’s been told to do. Uh. Technical difficulties?” –_ Jay

[The players look at each other with shock on their faces – they hadn’t thought about the transition not working out in their favour, as there were always to be growing pains with starting something like this new.]

“I guess we could just do something to bide the time, give us a break from the game for a little bit?” – Jake

[A thought sparks in Yeonjun’s head and he claps his hands together.]

“Random dance play! We’ve got a lot of space that should be caught on camera, it gets us moving so we’re not sitting for hours, and we can all join in or take the spotlight. Does that sound like a good idea?” – YJ

“That…actually isn’t too bad of an idea. You’re using your braincells for once, hyung.” – BG

“Says the one who doesn’t have one.” – TH

“YAH! You little-” – BG

“Little what?” – TH

“Beomgyu, Taehyun, please, don’t be acting like kids now…” – SB

“YEAH WOO LET’S DANCE!” – HK

“ _Unprompted, we are doing Random Dance Play, as suggested by Yeonjun himself!” –_ Jay

[For about 15 minutes, TXT & the DMs partake in a random dance play – Wonderland, Answer & HALA HALA by ATEEZ, PUMA, Can’t We Just Leave the Monster Alive, New Rules, Cat & Dog, & Angel or Devil by TXT, ON, Black Swan & DNA by BTS, Given-Taken & Let Me In by EN-, IDEA by Taemin, ending with Replay, Sherlock & View by SHINee to finish off the Random Dance Play, everyone thoroughly enthusiastic yet momentarily exhausted after the game, some having gone to use the toilet, others drinking from their drinks, snacking on food here and there. Jay whispers something into Jake’s ear, who gives a grin and nods. There’s a few notes jotted down by Jay before he looks back into the camera.]

“ _Alright, I think that’s the perfect point to come back into the game! So, just to quickly recap for those who’ve just joined us or were busy watching us goof around and dance to random songs within K-pop, the five individuals, now an unlikely bonded party through the Mark of Fate they all share, are holing up in the Healer’s Tap, where revelations were made about Bin, the mysterious ranger who has a charm to him, to the revelations that came about from the bandits carrying holy symbols to deity linked to the lycanthrope attacks the town of El’dwyer has had in the past. The others learnt more about the fall of the Amakiir kingdom, many seemingly having their own links to the kingdom. Now, who is going to react to the statement made by Bin?” –_ Jay

“ _I glare at him. Do I sense that he’s telling the truth? As far as I’m aware, I think you only rolled for Renegar and not to convince the rest of us.” –_ YJ

“ _You…actually bring up a fair point. So know that all of you would need to roll for insight, and that you would have to get higher than 22.” –_ Jay

[The rest of the band simultaneously reach for their dice to insight check Bin. Yeonjun sighs in disappointment. Beomgyu groans in annoyance. Taehyun pinches the bridge to his nose and throws his hands up hesitantly in defeat. Kai lets out a hum of disappointment.]

“ _Damn it Soobin! Why’d you roll so high? 19.” – YJ_

_“Ugh. You’re telling me? 8.” – BG_

_“Agh! Also a 19.” – TH_

_“I got a 17.” – HK_

_“Wow, guys. Roll better!” – SB_

_“Shut your mouth-“- YJ_

[Yeonjun shoots a death glare at Soobin, who just giggles and has that smug bunny grin on his face and shrugs his shoulders.]

“ _The four of you have still got some suspicion, but you believe it to be true nonetheless.” –_ Jake

“ _Renegar just looks at you with their mouth open. **‘I- how? How did you escape? How can I not remember your name?’** ” _– Jay

“ _I tense up. **‘Two things. I had help from my sister to escape the kingdom, but I don’t know where she is now. And…there’s been a curse placed on me. One of which I have had to make a work-around happen, causing me to wipe every trace of my real name in billions of individuals.’** ” – _SB

“ _’ **I think you’re lying.’** ” – _TH

“ _Roll for Insight!” –_ Jake

[Taehyun immediately begins to roll for insight. Soobin doesn’t need to be told once to roll as he already goes to roll for Persuasion. Taehyun hisses.]

****

**_“_** _18.” –_ SB

“ _Fuck. 5. Wait- that’s 8.”_ – TH

“ _He doesn’t seem to be the type to lead you on._ ” – Jay

“‘ ** _Why would I, an elf, who has seemingly no connection to dragons, learn the language of the dragons?’_** _And I lean closer to Terry.” –_ SB

“‘ ** _I apologise – I might’ve misjudged your vibes. But…that kind of magic is very strong.’_** _Do I know that?” – TH_

_“I would say you know it’s not an often practiced magic, but if you want to remember more about it as you would’ve learnt it from your studies, I’d say roll us an Arcana check.” –-_ Jake

[Taehyun woops in surprise and claps his hands excitedly.]

“ _Natural 20, plus 3, that’s a 23.” – TH_

_“Wow. Damn. Alright, so yes. It’s a very strong magic, something that you remember your mother practicing. It is a memory modification spell. You gather for it to affect essentially the entire system, it would have been cast with incredible power, something that would’ve taken years or even a very powerful ritual or wish by the gods to have such a widespread effect.” –_ Jay

“So you’re more powerful than we think?” – BG

“I cannot tell you that.” – SB

“Sly motherfucker…” – YJ

“ _Renegar kind of sits back in their seat, rubbing their chin in deep contemplation. **‘So…you want to keep your identity low…yet you brandishing the feathers of the Amakiir is bound to have people interested in you. Especially in a town essentially created by refugees of the Amakiir kingdom.’** And you watch as the individual with elven features from before takes a chair and sits down at the table with the rest of you.” – Jake_

_“’ **Dressar, my dear, do not press buttons. There is reasons behind what he did.’** And you watch Renegar kind of tense up when Dressar – the individual with elven features – sits down.” – Jay_

_“’ **Renegar, you of all of the three of us should know why I say this. Do you not remember the day the kingdom fell? When the two of us came across Bandelan when the town was merely an outpost? Of course I’m going to question his motives to keep his identity low when amyone who has learnt about the Amakiir know the symbol of the kingdom is the special kind of feather that the kingdom could only produce? I have reasons to be suspicious.’** And Dressar just gives you a glare, Bin.” – Jake_

[Soobin sets down his drink bottle and clears his throat.]

“’ ** _I understand the distrust, Dressar. But do you not think that showcasing the feather means there is a sign of hope that the kingdom can be rebuilt? And I’m pretty sure that the feathers aren’t exclusive to people of my blood. I’m sure you collected some yourself – they are – were – common within the kingdom.’_** _And I glare back at Dressar as well.” – SB_

_“Make a Persuasion check.” – Jake_

[Soobin and Jake both roll dice. Jake bursts into laughter. Soobin winces.]

“ _Wow. I hope you rolled better than what Dressar rolled!” – Jake_

_“Oh for real? What’d he roll?” – SB_

_“A 2.” – Jake_

_“Wow. Woooooow. Oh my gawd. Uh. I rolled a 10!” – SB_

_“You definitely convinced him for sure!” – Jake_

_“I kind of clear my throat. ‘ **I understand the conversations around the kingdom and all…but we have pressing matters here. You…** <gestures to Beomgyu> **you say that you know about lycanthropes from dealing with them, right?’” –** HK_

_“I nod.” – BG_

_“’ **What can you tell us about them? Surely they must have some weakness, if we’re up against lycanthropes…’** and I shoot a glance at the others who were talking about the kingdom earlier.” – HK_

_“’ **They all differ in forms, but there’s a common weakness – silver. Now for myself, I’m not a fan of silver…it’s irritating for me to touch and against my traditions, and I usually just fight them head on. But for the rest of us…I’m not sure where you would get silver in this town, let alone know someone who can do the work to silver weapons.’** ” – BG_

_  
“’ **Why do you need silver?’** ” – TH_

_  
“’ **Silver is…it weakens their strength, it destroys the advanced healing they have, which without silvered weapons, your weapons won’t do nothin’ without the silver. It won’t hurt them, it’ll just heal up as soon as you leave a mark.’** ” – BG_

_“ <*clears throat*> ‘ **All I need is silver. Renegar, Dressar, do you know if there’s any silver that I could use?’” –** YJ_

_“’ **What do you mean by that? All you need is silver?’”** – TH_

_“ **’It pays to have someone who runs a blacksmithing business and is a blacksmith himself. Cut out the middleman, I know how to silver weapons. In fact, that was the bulk of the work I did. I just need silver ingots. I have my skills, and no one dares to argue against a Myastan.** ’ My eyes turn icy white, and my tail twitches slightly.” – YJ_

_“_ No way! For real???” – BG

“’ ** _I don’t mean to be rude, but you don’t exactly look like a Myastan dragonborn…’_** _And I gesture to Daniel’s appearance. And I’m going to insight check him because I think he’s lying.” **– SB**_

****

_“He’ll be mad at you either way. Be warned, Soobin.” – YJ_

[Both Soobin and Yeonjun roll their respective dice rolls.]

“ _18 for that insight check.” – SB_

_“21 for persuasion.” – YJ_

_“Oh boy, this is going to be interesting.” – TH_

_“Can I roll for intimidation?” – YJ_

_“What do you plan to do?” – Jake_

_“Give him one hell of a stern talking to.” – YJ_

_“Alright, yeah. Soobin, make a Charisma saving throw in response.” – Jake_

[Soobin winces when he rolls his dice. Yeonjun tilts his head in slight annoyance.]

“ _I got a 13 for that…” – YJ_

_“Well, Bin’s been put in his place with a measly 8.”_

[Yeonjun clears his throat.]

“ **’** <*laughs*> **_The way I hear that so much that it’s almost laughable. Insulting from you, mister princey prince. Do you think I asked to be born as a hybrid? Do you think I hadn’t thought about the times where I’d wished I was born a Dragonborn instead of this? No fuckin’ orc child has a fuckin’ dragon tail or horns or scales, especially not one with a white dragon’s ancestry! What sort of pedigree do you want for me to prove I’m a fuckin’ Myastan, huh? HUH?’_** _And I get up from my seat and grab Bin by the collar.” – YJ_

_“WOAH WOAH WOAH!” – BG_

_“Holy shit!” – TH_

_“Make a strength check Daniel, Bin, you need to roll for a strength saving throw.” – Jay_

_“We’re already having a brawl?” – HK_

[Soobin grimaces again when he sees his roll result. Yeonjun yelps and hides his face in his hands, a shocked expression when he sees his roll result.]

“ _19 plus 3 is 22…” – YJ_

_“Oh god. Bin’s fucked. 6 plus 2 is an 8.” – SB_

_“Daniel has Bin in a chokehold with just one hand – it starts as getting Bin’s collar, but Daniel’s just so full of anger that he actually grabs Bin’s throat and just grabs it and squeezes.” – Jake_

_“ **’And ya want proof I’m a Myastan? Ya know our dialect.’** And I switch from Common to Draconic for this. **‘Do you have it through your fuckin’ head now? Do you think I like being called a liar for something that I know is true through my own genetics? Do you think I enjoy the fact had to deal with my father being assassinated because of his links to your kingdom because he was your family’s blacksmith before the kingdom fell? And here you are, insulting me because I look more like my mother’s side than my father’s side? Fuck you!’**_ _And I’m going to roll for intimidation again.” – YJ_

[Both Soobin and Yeonjun roll. Yeonjun lets out a cheer under his breath, while Soobin puts his head in his hands, groaning.]

“ _6 plus 1 is 7._ _I am rolling terribly right now._ ” – SB

“Oof.” – BG

“Yikes.” – HK

“ _That’s a 21. Far out Soobin.” – YJ_

_“Yeonjun, roll me a d100.” –_ Jake

[Everyone at the table looks at Jake then to Yeonjun in shock. Yeonjun’s eyes are wide as he reaches for the two dice that constitute a d100 roll.]

“…39?” – YJ

[The two DMs talk to each other back and forth.]

“ _Yeonjun, roll another D100.” – Jay_

_“I am now terrified of what you’re about to do.” – YJ_

[Yeonjun rolls again.]

“47.” – YJ

“ _You immediately drop Bin the moment you feel a massive surge of pain wreak through your body, a searing, hot pain akin to metal superheated in the forge pressed against every muscle in your body and the angry yell of Hephaestus rings in your mind. And it takes you a moment as you struggle to breathe, that this is a punishment because you acted against your oath. You now have disadvantage on all attack rolls until you are able to take a long rest, to atone for your actions, or until you’ve satisfied Hephaestus.” – Jake_

_“Do I take any actual damage?” – YJ_

_  
“No, this is more of a precautionary sort of pain, as a warning sign if you continue to act against your oath to your god.” – Jay_

_“ <*coughs*> ‘ **Fuckin’…ow! Shit…’** ” – YJ_

_“The moment I drop to the ground, I rub at my throat and try to take in a few breaths. ‘ **L-look. I am sorry for misunderstanding…I…you…you’re right. I should know better…especially since I probably was c-close to your father…’** ” – SB_

_“’ **You’re fuckin’ lucky for the fact that Fate wants us to work together, and that my god is angry with me for going against my oath. I am only sorry for tryin’ to choke ya out, but not for puttin’ you in your place.’** ” – YJ_

_“I get up and put myself between the two of them. ‘ **Is this what we’re doing now instead of preparing to go up against these lycanthropes? Sort out your traumas later!’” –** TH_

_“The others who are standing around just watch as Dressar looks at Renegar, who gets up and takes their leave to go downstairs.” – Jay_

_“ <*clears throat*> ‘ **You practice faith? To what god?’” –** HK_

_“’ **And why would that be something I tell you?’** ” – YJ_

_“’ **Because you have no idea what the true pain is of angering the gods. You may have an oath to your god, but I had a core part of myself taken away from me because…no. I won’t tell you that. But know this – gods are annoying to satisfy and deal with. Personally you’d be better off without one, but if you rely on them for some sort of power…then I don’t have much else to say.’** And I sit with unease. The mere mention of gods irks me.” – HK_

_“’ **Sounds like you say that from personal experience.’** ” – YJ_

_“ <*scoffs*> ‘ **I do, in fact. I did an unspeakable thing, and I paid the price for it. Even though it was found out that I was manipulated and not in control when it happened, but none of those deities give a damn. What’s it to them? What’s it to you? Nothing. Be careful of the divinities…they will backstab you and leave you stranded when you least expect it.’** I get up and wander over to the bar. ‘ **You serve drinks here?’” –** HK_

_“Dressar raises an eyebrow as he walks on over to the bar and immediately begins to prepare to serve you a drink. ‘ **Aye. What can we get you? We have liquor, we have non-liquor, what’s on your mind?’** – Jake_

_“’ **The Maze in the Mirror.’** And I put a gold piece on the bar table.” – HK_

_“Dressar looks at you for a moment before pushing the gold back to you. ‘ **It’s on the house. I didn’t realise that I’ve made you this drink before.’** And he immediately gets to work on making the drink.” – Jake_

_“Wait, isn’t that one of our songs?” – SB_

_“You’ll see why the drink is called that!” – Jake_

_“At which this point, you see Renegar come back up with the merchant from before. ‘ **Bandelan, you have those silver ingots ready, yeah?’** and you see Bandelan meet eyes with you, Daniel, and immediately you see him approach you and bow to you, carrying a rather heavy tray full of silver ingots, but judging the way that he’s holding it, he seems to be quite strong than what his appearance shows. ‘ **It’s been a while since I’ve been in the presence of a Myastan. I’m honoured. Are you…are you Heskhan’s son?’” –** Jay_

_[There’s a bit of a pause as Yeonjun widens his eyes and double checks his character sheet.]_

_“Oh shi- Uh. ‘ **…Yes. Yes. I’m Daniel Choi. Son of Heskhan Myastan and Yevelda of the Fireforge Dwarven clan.’** I did not anticipate that to come out so soon.” – YJ_

_“Bandelan widens his eyes. ‘ **I remember seeing you when you were much younger and just starting out in the forge. You took after your parents well…and you’ve grown a lot taller. I’m sure you’ve made your father proud. This…this town… El’dwyer’s expansion from a small outpost to the bustling town it is, is thanks to your parents, and you, to a degree, for making it happen. The town is indebted to you in this regard. I’ll inform the town mayor and the town guard. Uh. In saying that – Renegar does have a small forge downstairs. I’m not sure what other equipment you’ll need, though. But I think we can source it for you from the actual blacksmiths in town.’** And Bandelan bows his head to you. Everyone else sees Dressar and Renegar also bow their heads to Daniel.” – Jay_

_“As this is happening, Legolas, your Maze in the Mirror drink is ready. As you take a sip into the drink, you scrunch your face up the bitter taste, akin to the feelings that you experienced with your childhood and subsequent upbringing. It lingers.” – Jake_

_“I down the entire drink in one go.” – HK_

_“It’s almost comforting, as you essentially skull the drink, how the lingering bitter taste grows stronger to the point of making you gag slightly, again, reflecting how you feel about what happened in your past.” – Jake_

_“Upon hearing the name of Heskhan Myastan, I just am there, staring blankly into the floor. ‘ **Heskhan…so they went after you…’** and I just put my head in my hands and just completely dis- _how do you say disassociate in English?” – SB

“ _Disassociate.” – Jake_

_“Thank you.” – SB_

_“So for the purposes of slivering everyone’s weapons…given my proficiency with smithing tools and this being a speciality, can I get more information on that?” – YJ_

_“Right! So! Let’s see here. <*cracks open the Player’s Handbook to scan through for some information, nods his head and closes the book*> Because you’re quite skilled with this sort of thing, I need you to roll, with advantage, a d20 plus your proficiency modifier and a plus 2 to the end result. We’re doing it now and this roll determines how you silver everyone’s equipment, for the purposes of this particular situation.” – Jay_

[Yeonjun rubs his hands together, getting his dice ready to roll.]

“This better be good!” – BG

[Yeonjun rolls the dice. He lets out a small woop.]

“ _16 plus 2 plus 2 is 20!” – YJ_

_“Alright. That’s a success.” – Jay_

[Kai gets up and walks on over to Jake to whisper something in his ear. Jake nods his head and whispers into Kai’s ear. The two shake hands, and Kai goes off camera.]

“Where is he going?” – TH

“You’ll find out soon!” – HK

“Why do I have a feeling he’s going to get his microphone and an instrument because he’s a bard?” – BG

“Beomgyu, where did you acquire these braincells?” – TH

“I will block you if you keep saying that!” – BG

“Try me, bitch.” – TH

“’ ** _Silver is not the only thing that is effective against lycanthropes. Magic will be just as good. But it’s good nonetheless to have silvered weapons.’_** _And I start to fidget with my hands tugging at my mane that covers my collarbones. I think it’s called a dewlap?” – BG_

_“’ **What about you, though? Aren’t you going to be at risk of being hurt by them?’** ” – TH _

_“’ **Their attacks on me wouldn’t run the risk of cursing me. I already can do what they do. But for the rest of you…I’m not sure. The moon is full tonight, though.’** I twitch my head.” – BG_

_“Beomgyu….roll me a d100.” – Jake_

_“Oh god, what’s happening to Kuri???” – TH_

[Beomgyu rolls the dice, checking the piece of paper given to him earlier, widening his eyes and smacking the table.]

“ _Judging by your reaction, you rolled somewhere in the instinct influence range?” – Jake_

_“Yep. 49.” – BG_

_“What does that mean?” – YJ_

_“You watch as Kuri mentions the full moon and he twitches his head, and then begins to widely shake his head – the human features mostly having disappeared at this point, a snout beginning to take shape on his face. There’s some growls here and there coming from him, but now you see him look more like a bear. There’s more fur that appears around his neck and his hands are more bear like – but he still resembles a human-like appearance, somewhat.” – Jay_

_“IS HE TURNING INTO A BEAR?” – SB_

_“’ **Ow. That wasn’t anticipated.’** <*mimics a bear growl to an uncanny degree*>” – BG_

[The players and the DMs look at Beomgyu, shocked by his ability to produce a bear growl to an uncanny degree.]

“ _Choi Beomgyu where the hell did you learn that?” – YJ_

_“Practice makes perfect!” – BG_

_“A-Alright then. Uh. So where do you guys want to go now?” – Jay_

[A sound of a microphone turning on is heard, and the players look back to the camera crew as all of their faces light up with awe. There’s cheering and whooping as Kai comes back on camera, with a slight outfit change, but most notably the addition of the in-ear monitors and his microphone with him.]

“Testing if this works?” – HK

[The other members clap and cheer, with Jay and Jake chuckling.]

“ _We hear ya loud and clear. So do the fans!” – Jake_

_“I head down stairs after finishing my drink, paying little attention to Kuri having a moment.” – HK_

_“Well I-“ – BG_

_“’ **Well…I guess I better get to work on silvering these weapons. Are you guys following me down there or not?’” –** YJ_

_“’ **I mean, we might as well see you and your work in action. Break my shortswords though, and we are going to have issues.’** ” – SB_

_“I begin to make my way downstairs too.” - TH_

_“Making my way downtown, walkin’ fast-“ – YJ_

[Soobin smacks Yeonjun’s arm in an attempt to stop himself from laughing.]

“OW WHY DID YOU DO THAT SOOBIN?!?” – YJ

“YOU KNOW WE ALL KNOW THAT AND WE’D ALL SING ALONG TO IT DON’T YOU DARE TRY TO MAKE IT A THING!” – SB

“…why are you two always fighting??” – TH

“Let’s ignore them.” – BG

“ _Alright. As you head downstairs, Renegar, Dressar and Bandelan follow you down – with Renegar leading the way to the small forge. It’s under cover but it’s still outside and at this point in time in the day it’s about close to noon. The moon, however, is strangely quite prominent even during the daytime.” – Jake_

_“As I see the moon, I walk on over to the edge of the area undercover and stare up at the moon, taking in a deep breath, closing my eyes for a brief moment.” – HK_

_“I take a look at Legolas.” – TH_

_“So do I.” – SB_

_“And I.” – BG_

_“Right. So as Daniel has collected your weapons to have them silvered, I need, for the three of you, to give us your passive perception.” – Jake_

_“11.” – TH_

_“11” – BG_

_“12.” – SB_

_“I’m going to let Kai explain what you see.” – Jake_

_“As you see me kind of stare up to the moon, as I tilt my neck you can see a slight glow around my body, somewhat white-ish. On my neck, there’s a large Mark of Lunaris that is visible, glowing a soft off-white. Music, cue.” – HK_

[The backing track for moonchild – RM begins to play softly in the background.]

_We're born in the moonlight_

_Ain't no fantasy_

_Can't breathe in the sunlight_

_Gotta hide your heart_

_We're born to be sad, sad, sad, sad_

_Suffer to be glad, glad, glad, glad_

[Jay and Jake the opportunity to scribble down notes and go through the books while the other players watch Kai sing his cover of moonchild by RM]

_C'mon y'all, moonchild, moonchild_

_That's how it's supposed to be_

_Yeah all this pain and all this sorrow_

_That's our destiny, see?_

_You and my life was like this_

_We gotta dance in the rain_

_Dance in the pain_

_Even though we crash down_

_We gon dance in the plane_

We need the night's scenery more than anyone else

Only I can console myself, nobody else

_It's okay to shed the tears_

_But don't you tear yourself_

_Moonchild, you shine_

_When you rise, it’s your time_

_Come on, y’all_

_Moonchild, don’t cry_

_When moon rise, it’s your time_

_Come on, y’all_

_Moonchild, you shine_

_When moon rise, it’s your time_

_Come on, y’all_

I left, but can never get to leave once

You say you wanna die, but live it much harder

You say you wanna let go but put on another weight

Thinking of not thinking at all is still a thinking, _you know_

Actually this is our destiny _, you know_

Smiling in endless pain, _you know_

There is no ‘freedom’ when you say ‘freedom’ out loud, _you know_

_Do you know?_

[Taehyun and Soobin watch Kai perform with their mouths open wide in awe, while Yeonjun hums along as Beomgyu nods his head, mouthing the lyrics as Kai performs.]

In the moon hours, look at the night sky through the eyes of your soul

Gonna show it to you, your window, your time

You know, there's a lot of thorns on that streetlight too

Look closely at that blinking light for once

Isn’t a night view such a cruel thing

A magnificent sight of somebodies’ thorns

Someone will be consoled by looking at your thorns for sure

[Kai clutches the microphone with both of his hands, taking a breath as the beat begins to drop for the bridge.]

We are each other's nightscape, each other's moon

We are each other's nightscape, each other's moon

We are each other's nightscape, each other's moon

[As Kai sings the outro, his voice gets softer as he takes one in ear monitor out.]

_Come on, y’all_

_Moonchild, don’t cry_

_When moon rise, it’s your time_

_Come on, y’all_

_Moonchild, you shine_

_When moon rise, it’s your time_

_Come on, y’all_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits to doolsetbangtan for the translation of moonchild! you can find their translation of the lyrics here: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/10/24/moonchild/
> 
> When songs are covered by Kai (or anyone else in the story, for the matter) they will retain similar formatting (Italics for English, no formatting for Korean) and I will post the links to the translated lyrics in these end chapter notes! All songs that are mentioned in this fic from here on out & that are covered all have links to the overall story, many of which are foreshadowing future scenes... anyway! I hope you enjoyed this update! Let me know what you guys thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first ever actual published fanfic for Tomorrow by Together! I couldn't resist bringing the two highlights of my life (TXT and Dungeons and Dragons) together in a fanfic that I've been wanting to do for a while!
> 
> Shout out to the D&D Artmy crew who are reading this as well! This ties into their own campaign! 
> 
> This fanfic will have out of character and in character dialogue, and I will indicate with [Out of Character] when it is an out of character moment (such as a dice roll). All rolls represented in this fanfic are what were actually rolled by myself when writing this! 
> 
> I will try to get an update out at least every week!
> 
> Furthermore I hope you'll enjoy the fic!


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